By Affliction of Emotion
by Kasani
Summary: Elmina had always known her parents had a colorful past. After all, it's hard to top a father who used to be a homunculus and a mother from another dimension. But she never realized that their past would come back to haunt her in such a life altering way. With events out of her control threatening to shatter the world as she knows it, what will the future hold? -Sequel to BVOH-
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_**July 25**__**th**__**, 1935**_

Lightning cracked across the sky followed by a deafening peal of thunder. The ominously swirling dark clouds held the promise of a vicious storm. But it seemed as if mother nature itself was holding back, waiting for the scene far below in a country field to play out before unleashing its fury. Wind gusted, creating rippling waves in the sea of long grasses. On a piece of barren earth atop a small hill, a figure crouched. His shoulders were hunched against the wind, and his short blond hair whipped about his face as he focused all his energy on carving the last lines into the transmutation circle he had engraved into the soil. A pile of red stones rested at its center. Despite the number of human lives poured into the creation of those stones, it likely wouldn't completely suffice for payment. Nevertheless, it was enough to get things started. Whatever else the gate took to make up for the lack of payment made little difference at this point.

Dante couldn't suppress a gleeful chuckle. Everything was finally working out. True, her first plan had been foiled. She'd never expected her idiot son to start acting so pathetically _human_. And the backup plan she'd put into place beforehand hadn't gone exactly as she'd hoped. It had taken much longer than she had originally anticipated gaining control. But she was about to make the years of waiting well worth it. She was so close she could taste it. It would be the end of her. It would release her from this stale, miserable existence. She had given up the dream of immortality years ago. But she couldn't allow herself to die until she had ensured that she could take her enemies with her. She would have her revenge: On the Elrics, on her son, and on their families.

Her annoying little pest of a daughter-in-law had effectively shattered her initial plan for revenge. But now she had a chance to fix that. She wasn't entirely sure of the outcome of what she was about to attempt. If anything at all went wrong she could end up creating something wildly different from her initial goal. Ideally she would be able to draw something from the gate that would wreak havoc on the country. But given her rustiness and unfamiliar host body it was by no means certain it would work out the way she wanted. Still, regardless of what she managed to draw out, it was bound to cause problems for her family in some form or another. After all, the ones she wanted revenge on the most were likely in hot pursuit of her at that very moment. With any luck they would be the first to encounter it. Besides which, if she didn't take advantage of this opportunity now then her consciousness might waste away completely before she had another chance to exact revenge. That wasn't something she was prepared to risk.

She shrugged the broad shoulders of her current body a little uncomfortably. She'd never taken over a male body before. It was certainly odd. No matter. It was only a very temporary set up. She finished off the final line of the complex transmutation circle she had been carving into the earth. Casting a glance at the roiling sky she scowled. Time to finish this before the rain came pelting down and destroyed her hard work. She hadn't waited this many years to be outdone by the weather. She clapped the masculine hands of her host to the transmutation circle. It lit up in a flash of blue light. The crackle of energy shot up into the sky, and then rather unexpectedly a bolt of searing energy from one of the thundering clouds flashed into existence, clashing with the energy of the transmutation, drawn to it like a lightning rod. The crash of thunder that followed created a sonic boom that flattened the grasses of the clearing and sent Dante's host body flying backwards.

Two enormous doors flashed into existence above the hill. They swung outwards with an ominous squeal and a moment later two figures emerged. They stepped forward onto the barren earth and the giant doors swung shut behind them.

"Ah. She's here. I can taste it in the air," the light male voice was filled with a contagious glee.

"There are two of them," the second voice was female, with a chillingly hollow ring to it. There was a sharp intake of breath.

"Well, well… you're right. This new one…she's younger," the male voice was thoughtful.

"She's the one we need. The other one has gotten too old to easily manipulate," the female voice was flat and emotionless.

"Yes…you have a point there. Oh this is going to be so _fun_!" the male voice let out a hysterical peal of laughter with a distinctly maniacal ring to it.

"Just stay focused," the female voice ordered glumly. The male one snorted.

"Honestly, you're such a bore," he muttered.

"Let's get moving," her empty tone left no room for argument.

* * *

_**Earlier that day**_

Envy stood on the front step, staring pensively down the road leading up to the shop. The sun had just emerged over the horizon, spilling its golden light across the city and causing the heavy layer of dew coating the vegetation in the front yard to glitter like droplets of gold. Spider webs spun amidst the garden flowers sparkled like threads strung with diamonds while bird song filled the cool morning air. But for the moment, the beauty of the summer morning was lost on the middle aged man. His mind was preoccupied by the strange phone call he had received from his half-brother. Edward and Alphonse would be arriving shortly. But a trip from Risembool to Dublith wasn't something one made for a casual, hour long conversation over a cup of coffee. Something wasn't right. The tone of Ed's voice over the phone had confirmed it.

Envy let out a resigned sigh. There was a time in his life when the thought of the Pipsqueak encountering serious problems had filled him with a twisted glee. In fact, he'd made it his goal to be the cause of those very problems. Twenty-one years later he was feeling an unpleasant wash of anxiety over what on earth could possibly be distressing his half-brothers. The last sixteen years had been unusually peaceful compared to the rest of their lives. For a long time he had waited with apprehension for the other shoe to drop. Nothing remained perfect forever. But when disastrous problems had failed to present themselves for such an extended period of time, he had slowly begun to relax. Now however, he had an uncomfortable suspicion that trouble might finally be making its reappearance.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as he noticed two familiar figures walking down the road towards the shop. He saw Edward raise a hand in greeting and returned the gesture. Both men were dressed in dark pants, loose shirts and light jackets for traveling. They were tall and broad shouldered, taking after their father more and more the older they got. It was a startling difference from the small, wiry body Ed had possessed as a child. His long hair was still pulled back in its signature braid, while the rising sun glinted off his automail arm. He was still of a slighter build than his brother, who was actually still taller than him by an inch or two. Al kept his hair short, which helped in differentiating between the two of them. Their facial features were eerily similar, almost like twins. Ed claimed it wasn't how they used to be. He'd ended up basing the design for Al's body off of his own form, which had bothered him at first, although Al claimed he didn't mind in the least.

The men arrived at the front step of the shop a moment later.

"Envy," Edward greeted him tiredly. The dark circles beneath his eyes weren't an unusual feature on his masculine face.

"You look half dead," Envy commented blandly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his loose dark pants as he regarded his half-brothers. Edward let out a gusty sigh.

"Your daughter is a little hellion. No wonder you want to ship her off to live with us for weeks at a time," he grumbled, giving the green haired man a half-hearted glower. Envy chuckled dryly.

"Now Ed, as much as it's entertaining to see Mina driving _you_ insane instead of me, she's only there because she and Adele refuse to be separated," he retorted.

"Yeah, yeah…Well I can't say she's a good influence, but I'm glad Adele's got her around. Mina pulls her out of herself a little. I'm not sure where she got her personality from, but it certainly wasn't me or Winry," Ed sounded mildly exasperated. Envy smirked. His half-brother's youngest daughter was unusually shy and reserved compared to the rest of her family… which in some ways was a relief. It made it bearable when the two girls took their turn living at the shop. She tended to keep his own daughter out of trouble…to some degree…

It had become a tradition for the two teenage girls to take turns living with each other's families. Since they had grown up together and become nearly inseparable, the distance between their homes had turned into a problem. Their parents couldn't constantly be making trips back and forth with them, and neither family trusted the girls going off by themselves. Elmina had inherited her father's penchant for stirring up trouble while Adelina's quiet meekness made her an easy target for anyone with less than noble intentions. Thus the tradition of the girls staying with each other for extended periods had formed.

Envy's gaze flicked to Alphonse. The short haired man gave him a slight smile, but there was an unusual tension radiating from him. It was obvious something wasn't quite right.

"Why don't you come inside? Elsie's making coffee, which I'm sure you could use," Envy suggested, turning and heading back into the house. The two men followed him in. The smell of freshly baked bread and coffee brewing led them just down the hall into the quaint, sunlit kitchen. A petite, dark haired woman sat at the table, an afghan she was in the process of crocheting spread across her lap. She glanced up at them as they entered and smiled.

"Ed, Al, you've got perfect timing. The coffee just finished," she said, setting aside the project in her hands and rising to fetch several mugs from the cupboard.

"Elsie, you're looking well. How have you been feeling?" Edward asked, giving the woman a knowing look.

"Oh, I'm just fine; although it's taken us a little while to wrap our heads around the idea. Especially after this many years" Elsie shot the men a small smile over her shoulder, "Go ahead and sit down. You both look tired," she set about pouring the steaming, dark liquid into the cup's she'd gotten out. Envy's gaze trailed over her, taking in the dark capris and light grey blouse which clung softly to her curves, including the new and rather unexpected one showing slightly over her lower abdomen. She glanced at him, her warm green eyes filling with amusement at catching him staring. There was a healthy glow radiating from her, and while the years had worn soft lines into her features they added a certain maturity to her gaze. The knowledge that their three person family would soon be increased by one more individual had come as quite a shock. It had been sixteen years since Elmina had come into their lives, and they'd both assumed by this point she would remain an only child.

"Are you guys' hungry at all? There's some fresh bread I can slice up if you want," she offered, gaze shifting to the Elrics sitting at the table.

"No. Thank you though. We had breakfast on the train," Ed explained, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his forehead tiredly. Elsie brought the mugs to the table and sat down with a slight frown, sensing the unease radiating from the two men. Envy slipped into the seat beside her, eyeing his half-brothers speculatively.

"Alright, what's so terribly important that you had to come and discuss it in person?" he asked bluntly, getting straight to the point. Edward glanced at Al and the short haired man nodded.

"The reason we're here is…well…Al's started having dreams," he sounded oddly reluctant. Envy tensed slightly, several grotesque images rising up in his mind from the usual nightmares that still plagued him regularly. Thankfully after years of practice his neutral mask remained firmly in place.

"What kind of dreams?" his tone was flat. Obviously these weren't typical dreams or the two men wouldn't have come in person to discuss them. An uneasy thought lingered in the back of the former homunculus's mind. It was a worry they had dismissed years ago when nothing seemed to have come of it. It was hard to believe it could still be a risk after this long, but he'd been alive long enough to know just about anything was possible when it came to alchemy; and more specifically, alchemy and his onetime mother.

"Dreams about the underground city," Al spoke up finally, meeting Envy's gaze steadily, "And they aren't normal dreams. They're more vivid than any dream I can remember having. And they're always about the exact same thing. Every night, every time I fall asleep, it's the same thing, over and over,"

"When did this start happening," Envy asked, frowning.

"Well…" Al shifted uneasily, gaze moving to rest on the table. Ed shot his brother an impatient look.

"He's been getting them for months now but he didn't see fit to mention it," the alchemist's voice was crisp.

"They didn't start getting so persistent until the last week," Al defended himself half-heartedly.

"You say it's the same thing over and over?" Envy asked, frown deepening. Al nodded.

"It always starts at the entrance to the city. I'm walking through the city into one of the areas we never bothered exploring much. There's a hidden door we never found because you have to press a specific stone in the wall to open it. The dream ends as soon as I walk into the room. I never get to see what's in there," he explained. Envy stared at him for a moment before his expression grew puzzled.

"That's it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The short haired man nodded.

"Al wants to go to the underground city again and find the room. He thinks it'll make the dreams stop," Ed cut in impatiently, tone indicating he wasn't a huge fan of the idea.

"I feel like I need to go there. There's something important there that we missed," Al's voice grew urgent.

"Sounds like a trap if you ask me," Elsie spoke up finally, tone uneasy.

"That's what I said! But he won't listen," Ed sounded exasperated.

"Come on guys. It's been over twenty years now! What sort of trap could have lasted that long?" Al demanded.

"A trap set by Dante," Envy said bluntly, "It doesn't make sense for this to start happening out of the blue for no reason,"

"I know," Al sighed, "But at this rate I'm not going to be getting much in the way of sleep anymore. It's not a very long dream and I wake up every time it ends," he sounded resigned. Envy's frown returned. Every instinct he possessed was screaming that going to the underground city might be playing right into a trap that had been set for them years ago. They already explored the city rather thoroughly a long while back, looking for anything Dante might have left behind in case someone that shouldn't got their hands on it. They'd never actually found anything though. Going back now didn't make sense. He was more than able to understand the feeling of being plagued by unpleasant dreams. But he was also well aware it was possible to work around them and largely ignore the inconvenience.

"It isn't a good idea," there was an edge to the green haired man's tone. Al's expression grew stubborn.

"I need to know what's in that room. I'm going there one way or another," he replied firmly. Clearly the man had no intention of backing down on the matter. His seemingly irrational persistence only increased Envy's unease. Something was definitely off about the whole situation. But judging by Al's expression, if they didn't agree to go to the city with him then he was going to end up going alone; which could potentially make things a lot worse. Envy glanced at Edward, meeting the golden haired alchemist's gaze. After this many years he could read the younger man like a book. His resigned expression indicated he'd already given up on the idea of talking his brother out of it. The reason he'd come wasn't to discuss whether or not to go ahead with the idea. He'd come to see if Envy wanted to join them in the likely very unwise endeavour. The green haired man sighed, resting his elbow on the table and his head in his hand.

"I hope you realize how stupid this is," he muttered.

"I don't understand why you're all so against it," Al replied, clearly perplexed. Edward rolled his eyes.

"See what I'm up against?" he asked, fixing his half-brother and sister-in-law with a helpless look.

"So you guys want us to go to the underground city with you," Elsie stated skeptically. Envy's head snapped up to stare at her in alarm.

"You're not going!" his voice came out a little harsher than necessary. Elsie blinked before her eyes narrowed at his tone, expression unenthused.

"You don't need to bite my head off," she told him flatly. His expression hardened, but his anxiety was clear as his gaze moved to rest on the slight bump over her stomach. Elsie sighed. "It's alright, I won't go if you don't want me to," she relented.

"I just don't want you getting in the way," he gave her a knowing look, his tone indicating a slightly different meaning than what the words usually implied. Elsie smirked faintly. It had been over twenty years since the last time she'd 'gotten in the way' as he was implying. Granted, the scar it had left just below her rib cage was testament to the validity of his concern, especially given her current condition.

"You never let things go," she murmured dryly.

"So you'll come with us then?" Edward asked, gaze resting on Envy. The green haired man's expression grew resigned.

"If I don't go then the two of you will get yourselves into more trouble than you can handle and I'll end up having to bail you out anyway," he muttered, tone slightly irritated. Edward rolled his eyes at his half-brother.

"Good! It's settled then. When can you leave?" Alphonse asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table eagerly. Envy sat back in his chair with an unenthused expression. He was used to the younger Elric being the level headed sensible one. The change in the short haired man was both annoying and unnerving.

"You might as well go now," Elsie replied. Envy raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. She shrugged. "It's Sunday. The shop is closed today and tomorrow, and even if you're delayed longer than that Mason is more than capable of running things without you. We can take care of things on our own," she told him blandly. Envy's expression grew mildly put out.

"It's nice to know I'm so needed," he muttered. Elsie smiled bemusedly at him.

"Don't pout. You know you're irreplaceable. So you had better damn well come back in one piece," her tone became stern, concern obvious in her gaze. He blinked, and a moment later his expression softened, clearly mollified as he reached up to brush a lock of dark hair back from her face.

"You shouldn't worry so much. I'm not as fragile as you seem to think," his tone was faintly amused.

"Hmm," she didn't sound convinced.

"Isn't there a train to Central that leaves Dublith just after lunch?" Al asked. Edward let out a gusty sigh.

"More train rides in one day. Wonderful…" his tone was unenthused.

"Yeah. And since it leaves at 12:30pm there's plenty of time for the two of you to help me get the shop prepared for opening on Tuesday," Envy commented nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Al blinked.

"Excuse me?" the mixture of disbelief and resignation in Ed's tone made the green haired man smirk.

"Equivalent exchange," he retorted dryly. The alchemist rolled his eyes.

"Alright slave driver. Knowing you you've got a ton of unpleasant jobs piled up for just such an occasion… Might as well get started," he muttered. Envy chuckled, rising to his feet.

"You know me well,"

"Just as long as we aren't late for the train," Al warned, expression uncertain.

"I won't let him make you late. You guys go ahead. I'll have a lunch ready for you to grab before you leave," Elsie told them, rising to her feet and starting across the kitchen towards the cupboards. An arm slid around her waist, halting her progression and pulling her into an embrace. She smiled as her husband leaned in to steal a kiss.

"Promise you'll be careful," worry colored her tone as she pulled back to stare at him.

"I'm always careful," he told her, grey eyes solemn. She raised an eyebrow.

"Liar," her tone was flat. His lips curved into a smirk.

"Most of the time," he amended, "Don't worry so much. I'm sure we'll be back by tomorrow," he planted a kiss on her forehead before releasing her to follow his half-brothers out of the room. With any luck the dreams would prove to simply be a weird aftereffect of the transmutation they'd performed years before. Although even if that was the case, he was stumped as to why it would suddenly start appearing now… He couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had settled over him. There was an unpleasant feeling of inevitability about the whole situation. With Al being so hell bent on going, he'd end up getting there eventually even if they decided to back out of the idea. They would just have to move forward and let the chips fall where they may.

* * *

The train station of Central City was packed with people, as was typical on a Sunday afternoon. The sky had darkened outside, clouds threatening to unleash a deluge which had driven more people into the station than usual for shelter. The three middle aged men waded through the crowd towards the exit, shouldering past groups of talking travelers and passengers rushing to their imminently departing trains. Envy let out a long suffering sigh, dodging around just such a person to avoid a collision. He could feel the stares following him through the crowd and the occasional surprised whisper as he passed people. After this many years he'd grown used to it, but it was always more noticeable when he traveled. In the areas he frequented in Dublith people had long ago adjusted to his rather unique appearance. He'd become resigned to wearing what was deemed a more 'normal' outfit for human males, mainly due to Elsie finding it uncomfortable to be seen in public with him if he attempted to wear clothing resembling his old style. His hair however, had remained stubbornly unchanged throughout the years. Of course he could have styled it differently and dyed it a more normal hue, but he'd never exactly been a conformist. Not by choice in any case. Granted, some people were put off by it, but since he'd never had an overly high opinion of people in general it wasn't something he concerned himself with.

"Al, wait up!" Ed called, his tone exasperated as he plowed through the mass of people in an attempt to keep his rather enthusiastic brother in sight.

"He's sure in a hurry," Envy muttered, keeping pace with the older Elric. He saw Ed's expression deteriorate to a frown out of the corner of his eye.

"He's been starting to act a bit odd the last few weeks… There's no way he's been getting enough sleep. Not to mention he's suddenly starting reading alchemy books again out of the blue. I didn't get a chance to check out exactly what he was researching, but from the looks of the books he had laying around at his house its old esoteric stuff," Ed's tone was uneasy. His half-brother shot him an alarmed look.

"And you didn't find this odd enough to mention until now…?" Envy demanded.

"Well he said he was just reviewing some old stuff for fun. Sort of a sentimental thing I guess…" the golden haired alchemist trailed off. Envy rolled his eyes.

"And you believed him? Sounds like a pretty absurd excuse to me. Given how the two of you have taken up alchemy instruction, you'd think you'd been getting enough review already. Seems to me you've just been in denial," he retorted. Ed let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well after this many years it doesn't make sense for him to suddenly start having problems," his tone was defensive. Envy shook his head.

"It may not make sense, but it's obviously happening," he stated bluntly.

"Hey! It's you!" their attention was drawn back to the younger Elric who was a short distance ahead of them in the crowd. His tone was shocked. The two older men shared a look before making their way through the throng of people more swiftly. Pushing past another person Envy's gaze landed on the figure standing in front of Alphonse and his eyes widened. The newcomer's unusually long dark hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, while his bangs framed his face and fell slightly into his eyes. The man turned to meet his gaze and gave him a slight smile.

"Wrath?" the green haired man's tone was as shocked as Al's had been.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Ed demanded in surprise, coming to a stop next to his brother.

"I should be the one asking that," Envy growled, striding forward and fixing the dark haired man in front of him with a severe look.

"Well, it's good to see the two of you are as friendly as ever," the dark haired man replied dryly. Envy's eyes narrowed.

"You disappeared for the last two years! What happened to checking in with us every six months? Elsie's been worried sick," his tone was aggravated. Wrath's expression shifted, blue eyes growing guarded.

"It's complicated. I was on my way back to see you actually," he explained reluctantly. Envy raised an eyebrow fixing him with an analyzing look. The small, hyperactive child he had known years ago was difficult to see in the man standing before him. He was nearly half a foot taller than Envy's own height of 5'8", and while he was broad shouldered and muscular, he tended more towards Izumi's wiry build than he did his father's rather imposing figure. He'd kept his hair long over the years, although he'd taken to wearing it pulled back from his face for practical reasons. The boyishness that his large blue eyes lent to his expression was tempered by the strong jawline and unreadable gaze.

Although he had watched him grow over the years, it still struck Envy how much the boy had changed. His mother's death had been quite a blow, having a rather sobering effect on his generally cheerful and carefree personality. He'd become quieter and more guarded, and tended to keep to himself more and more over the years. Five years after Elmina's birth he'd left their home to travel, feeling restless in the confines of the small city. Envy suspected he'd been searching for a purpose in his life. The green haired man had found a purpose in his wife and daughter, but Wrath had no such ties. He'd seemed to avoid having any serious relationships with people other than those he was already well acquainted with. Whether this was from a desire to avoid the heartache that sometimes accompanied such relationships, or simply because he had difficulty finding people he related to, Envy wasn't entirely sure.

"Well you better have a damn good excuse for leaving us hanging for so long," the green haired man glowered. Wrath grimaced slightly.

"Unfortunately I do… But that can wait until later. What are you three doing here? Where are Elsie and Winry and the kids? How have they been?" his expression grew curious. Ed sighed.

"Well, Winry's back at the shop looking after things there," he replied, "Allen's taken over half of the business so that takes away some of her stress, especially given how popular Rockbell Automail is becoming. Sara passed the State Alchemist exam a little over a year after you left, so she's away from home in the north much of the time. And Adele is still improving her alchemy at a surprising speed, although she doesn't seem to have any desire to become a State Alchemist like her sister. She's been working away at that idea of medicinal alchemy that Rose's son Elior came up with. Between his guidance and Sara's advice she's been making progress. She and Mina still travel back and forth with each other. Mina's staying with us at the moment," he explained.

"Wow, Sara's a State Alchemist now? How do you feel about that?" Wrath raised an eyebrow. The blond alchemist gave him a flat look.

"Doesn't particularly matter how I feel; it's not as if she listens to me anyway. She's known as the Luminescent Alchemist," he explained, tone unenthused.

"What a fitting title," Wrath smirked, "Still…I'm amazed you and Winry let her go ahead with it, what with the tension with Drachma and everything that's happened over the years…" he trailed off skeptically. Ed grimaced.

"We were against the idea, but she went ahead with it anyway. She's an adult now, so it's not like we could very well stop her," the blond muttered.

"What Ed means to say, is that his daughter has inherited a stubborn streak a mile wide from both of her parents, and she refuses to be turned away from anything she's set her mind to," Envy commented dryly.

"Oh shut up," Edward grumbled, shooting a glower at his half-brother.

"That does sound like Sara," Wrath agreed, although his expression had grown distant, as if something about the subject concerned him. He shook his head after a moment and turned his gaze to Envy. "So what about Mina? Is she still going to that martial arts academy, or have they finally expelled her?" his tone was dry. Envy's brow furrowed.

"She isn't _that_ bad," his replied defensively. Wrath snorted, clearly unconvinced. The older man sighed. "Yes, she's still attending the academy in the winter. She's a talented enough student that they're reluctant to get rid of her. There wouldn't be any issues in the first place if she could just keep her mouth shut and stop provoking her classmates," he grumbled. Ed cracked a slight grin.

"You know, she reminds me of a certain former homunculus…" he trailed off pointedly. Envy scowled darkly in reply.

"She always did take after her father. Honestly, I don't know how Elsie has remained sane after this many years with the two of you," Wrath eyed Envy amusedly. The green haired man wilted slightly.

"Honestly, I've wondered that myself," he muttered.

"I'm still amazed you found such an understanding, patient person to marry," Al commented thoughtfully.

"Well, they say opposites attract," Ed's tone was innocent. Envy rolled his eyes at the thinly veiled jibe.

"Shut it pipsqueak," he growled, tone more resigned than irritated.

"Well it sounds like not much has changed since the last time I checked in," Wrath said, changing the subject slightly, "But what are you three doing in central?" his tone was puzzled. Edward and Envy shared a momentary look before glancing at Alphonse.

"We're going to the underground city," Al replied amiably. Wrath's eyes widened.

"Why…?" his tone was uncertain.

"It's complicated," Edward replied with a grimace. Envy frowned thoughtfully.

"Why don't you come with us?" The green haired man suggested, "We could explain things on the way. Unless you've got more pressing matters to attend to…" he trailed off, raising an eyebrow. Wrath shook his head slightly.

"I was planning on coming back to visit you and Elsie anyway. I might as well come with you. Sounds like I might have missed out on some things after all," he cast Alphonse a slightly guarded look from the corner of his eye, clearly already sharing the same concern that was hovering in the back of Envy's own mind.

* * *

The four men made their way down the long, stone stair case leading deep beneath central into the underground city. Alphonse pressed ahead with almost feverish urgency, followed closely by his concerned older brother. Envy hung back slightly along with Wrath, putting a bit of distance between the Elrics and themselves.

"I don't like this," Wrath murmured uneasily. Envy shook his head.

"Neither do I. But he won't be talked out of the idea. I don't see that we have any other choice, short of forcibly restraining him. And something tells me Ed wouldn't agree to that plan,"

"There's more at stake here than just Al's personal wellbeing," the dark haired man's voice was a low growl. The older man sighed.

"I know. But ultimately, if this truly is a trap set by Dante…well, Al will end up finding his way here one way or another. It's better that we're here to exercise damage control," Envy muttered.

"But what if that was part of her plan? Assuming we'd follow him here, meaning she could eliminate us all at once with whatever she's got waiting for us?" Wrath pressed, his tone urgent. Envy's brow furrowed. It was certainly a risk…

"Maybe, but that seems rather direct for Dante…not to mention she'd assume we'd be prepared for that and that would increase the chances of her plan failing. She's more conniving than that. Whatever it is, it won't be something we can easily predict…Besides, for all we know we're just being paranoid. It _is_ quite a stretch to believe that she somehow managed to manipulate the soul transmutation, especially given how much time has passed," he pointed out reluctantly. Wrath's expression remained unconvinced.

"Well maybe… but I still have a bad feeling about this," Wrath stared uneasily at the Elric brothers who were already a fair distance ahead of the former homunculi.

"So do I," Envy replied, his tone resigned.

They reached the bottom of the stone stair case a short time later and proceeded into the city. Alphonse clearly knew where he was going, as he didn't hesitate at any of the intersections of the various deserted streets. Envy frowned, somewhat perplexed by the area of the city which Al was leading them to. It was an inconspicuous residential neighborhood. It hadn't held anything of interest when they'd explored the place years ago, and they'd been rather thorough.

Al continued onwards until they came to a small house on a street corner. The place was still standing in one piece despite being subjected to years of wear and decay. Given how old the city was, it was surprising how good the condition of the various buildings were. More than likely it was due to the city being unused and protected from the elements safely underground. The house before them was unassuming, nothing about it drawing attention or arousing suspicion. Nevertheless the younger Elric bounded up the front steps and tried the door handle impatiently. It opened shakily after a moment with an unpleasant screech, the hinges having rusted to the point of being nearly unusable. Without further pause the short haired man darted inside.

"Al, wait!" Edward protested, following after his brother.

"So much for being cautious," Envy muttered, stepping through the door at a slower pace, gaze sweeping the small room. Wrath followed after him reluctantly. There appeared to be nothing in the room but falling apart articles of furniture and a heavy coating of dust over everything. Footprints from the Elrics lead out of the room and down the hall. With a final glance around the room Envy followed them until he came to a staircase near the back of the building. The steps lead down into the basement and were made of stone, meaning they hadn't rotted away over the years.

"Somehow this isn't reassuring," Wrath muttered, right behind the older man. Envy snorted, starting down the stairs swiftly to catch up with the other men.

They found the two of them in a cellar at the base of the stairs. Al was running his hand experimentally over the grubby stone wall.

"So this is the spot?" Ed's tone was skeptical. Al nodded distractedly, fingers moving back and forth over the wall methodically until they lit upon a stone that was slightly loose. His eyes lit up in triumph and he pushed it in forcefully. There was a grinding squeal, and part of the wall in front of him slid down into the floor, to reveal another room. Envy's eyes widened slightly and Ed drew in a sharp breath.

"How did we miss this before? That's clearly an alchemic construction," Wrath sounded taken aback.

"We weren't specifically looking for it," Edward muttered, "That wasn't exactly sloppy handiwork,"

"Lets go!" Al insisted impatiently, starting forward into the next room.

"Wait!" His brother's voice was slightly panicky as he darted after the short haired man, likely in an attempt to stop him. Envy let out a frustrated growl at the recklessness of his half-brothers. At times their idiocy never ceased to amaze him. Any trap waiting for them would be sprung instantly.

"What are they thinking?" Wrath hissed, stepping forward towards the doorway. At that moment there was an odd, crackling sound, as if a transmutation circle had been activated. Blinding light flooded both small rooms, causing all four men to cry out in pain. Envy's head spun and he was vaguely aware of his knees buckling beneath him. There was no time to consider what exactly had happened before his eyes slipped shut and he lost consciousness.

* * *

When he came to once more he was lying on his back on a cold, hard surface. His eyes fluttered open and he let out a pained groan at the unpleasant throbbing throughout his skull. Drawing in a breath, he raised himself slightly, glancing around to see he was lying on the floor of the cellar. Wrath was collapsed in the doorway to the next room, and he made out Ed's sprawled figure farther inside. Envy grimaced, surprised at the cold stiffness he felt throughout his body. How long had they been unconscious?

He scrambled painfully to his feet and crossed the room to Wrath, crouching to shake the younger man's shoulder. He stirred after a moment, slowly raising his head with a bewildered expression.

"What happened?" his voice was hoarse. Envy shook his head.

"I'm not sure," he murmured, rising once more and stepping cautiously across the threshold into the next room. He heard Ed let out a muffled sound, his prone form beginning to shift. Envy's gaze darted about the small room. To his surprise it was empty, save for an old wooden chest in one corner. The chest was open revealing it to be empty, but judging from the lack of dust inside it hadn't been open for long. Suddenly Envy's eyes widened, heart freezing in his chest. Where was Al?

"Al…are you…ok?" Ed gasped, slowly raising himself to a seated position; "Alphonse?" his tone grew shocked, glancing around in disbelief as he realized his brother was nowhere in sight

"Where did he go?" the alchemist demanded, scrambling shakily to his feet. Envy's hands clenched into fists.

"It looks like he took something out of that chest and left us behind. Come on, we need to go after him," his voice was sharp. This was exactly what he'd been afraid of. At this point it was safe to say that the younger Elric was acting under Dante's influence somehow. He wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to plant the dreams into Al's mind, or why they'd taken so long to take effect, but there was a good chance that by entering the hidden room Alphonse had triggered off a transmutation that had put him under Dante's control somehow.

"Right, let's go," Ed agreed tensely. The three men turned and made for the stairs. They needed to find him before he put into action whatever else the old hag had been planning.

"Alphonse!" Ed shouted over the fierce howling of the wind. Rain was pelting down, soaking the three men as they sprinted across the farmer's field. Lightening flashed overhead followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Envy winced, willing his tired limbs to move faster. They'd been running for nearly half a mile now, ever since they saw the ominous flash of alchemic light on the horizon, and his legs were less than thrilled about it. He wasn't in bad shape by any stretch, but long distance sprinting through wind and rain wasn't something he made a habit of. Dread twisted in his gut. Judging by that flash, Al had probably already carried out whatever it was Dante had had planned. After determining he was no longer in the underground city they'd spent the last hour searching Central and the surrounding countryside for him in vain. They'd gotten some tips from people who'd spotted him as he left the city, but it was the sky high transmutation that had drawn them in the right direction. They were currently headed towards a rise in the ground.

"Al?!" Ed's tone was panicky, "Dammit!" the blond leapt forward with renewed speed. Envy squinted through the sheets of rain and finally spotted what had drawn Ed's attention. A figure was sprawled in the grass at the base of the small hill. He felt an unpleasant sinking feeling inside as he neared the unmoving form. This couldn't be good.

Edward dropped to his knees in the wet grass next to his unconscious brother.

"Al, talk to me. _Al!_" the blond alchemist's voice was desperate, shaking the younger man's shoulders. Envy crouched down next to him, grasping Al's cold wrist in his hand and checking for a pulse. He felt a thrill of surprise to find there was still a faint rhythm beating beneath his fingers. He doubled checked at the unconscious man's throat and felt some of his dread ease off slightly.

"He's still alive," Envy stated, his tone guarded. Al appeared uninjured, but it was all too possible he has sustained internal damage of some sort.

"Hey!" both men glanced up to see Wrath had climbed to the top of the hill, "There's a transmutation circle up here. Or at least what's left of it. The rain is washing it away," he called above the storm. Envy saw him frown, "From the looks of it…I'd say he tried to open the Gate,"

"He what?!" Ed's head snapped up. Envy stared at Al's unconscious form. If he'd actually attempted to open the Gate there was no telling what it had taken as a fee.

"We need to get him to the hospital," his voice was hoarse. Wrath made his way back down the hill.

"Alright, let's lift him up. It's going to be a long walk back to the city, but it'll be faster than waiting for someone to come find us. The less time he's out here in the rain the better," the dark haired man came to a stop next to them.

"Dammit Al. Don't you dare die on me," Ed's voice broke. Together the men lifted the unconscious man into a standing position with his arms over Ed and Wrath's shoulders.

"Envy, you should go ahead and find some help," Wrath suggested. Envy nodded, already breaking into a swift jog back towards the city. He didn't want to imagine the possibility of losing his younger half-brother. Facing their families after such a disaster was unthinkable. They had to get him through this somehow.

"Hang in there Al," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to upload this earlier but the site was being glitchy.**

**Yes, I'm finally beginning to upload the sequel to By Virtue of Humanity. This prologue is absurdly long compared to the first chapter of the story, but that's just the way it worked out. This story, sadly, is not finished. But it's well on its way! So out of excitement/impatience I decided to begin uploading it...slowly...with many more cliff hangers than the last story...because Envy's sadism from the beginning of the first story rubbed off on me apparently lol. Despite this prologue, this is an OC centric story. The pairings are mainly OCxOC and WrathxElycia (eventually), however there is also EnvyxOC, EdwardxWinry, and RoyxRiza.**

**A couple little notes: Elmina is a shortened form of Wilhelmina which is the female form of William (Envy's human name). Envy and Elsie are 38, Wrath is 31, Ed and Winry are 37, Adele and Mina are 16, AJ is 18 and Sara is 20. I'll mention the ages of other characters as the story progesses.**

**I always have these smart, wonderful ideas of things I'm going to say in the artist comments before I begin uploading stories. But when it comes time to upload it I've either forgotten them, or in this case I'm too exhausted from staying up too late the night previously to bother with it so I'll keep this short. I hope you enjoy the story! If you have any questions feel free to ask them. I hate to stoop this low, but reviews do make me more inclined to upload the chapters faster... just a hint... xP  
**

**And lastly, for any of you who have yet to read By Virtue of Humanity, I suggest you start with that before reading this. It will make things less confusing lol.**

**Enjoy! :)**


	2. Chapter 1 - Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 1 – Calm Before the Storm**

_**August 1**__**st**__**, 1935**_

Nestled in the southeastern countryside of Amestris was the small town known as Risembool. It was the residence of the well-known alchemist Edward Elric, who had years ago retired from his title as Fullmetal. It was also home to the well-known automail shop known as Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters. The shop drew customers from as far as Rush Valley, Dublith, and even South City. The late Pinako Rockbell had opened the shop years ago in her large home on the outskirts of town. She had been succeeded ten years before by her granddaughter Winry Elric, who went by her maiden name Rockbell for business dealings. The shop continued to be operated from the family home: an old, wood and brick building with beige siding and green trim. The rolling green pastureland surrounding it made for a pleasant pastoral scene.

Late afternoon sun shone down on the home's spacious backyard. Two teenage girls stood facing off in the middle of the lawn. One was slightly taller, her golden hair falling in loose ringlets just past her shoulders. A light green blouse draped over her curves in a casual way. The other girl was of a slighter, wirier build than the blonde. Her black hair hung in long waves over her back and shoulders, vaguely reminiscent of the palm tree spikes possessed by her father. A light grey shirt hugged her slim upper body leaving part of her midriff bare, while soft soled boots came to just below her knees over black leggings. The blonde shifted, her large blue eyes uneasy as she looked for an opening. A moment later she darted forward and struck out at her opponent. The dark haired girl easily blocked the hesitant blow aimed at her, grey eyes flashing with exasperation as she stepped away from the blonde.

"You call that a punch? You hit like a girl," her tone was accusatory.

"I _am_ a girl," the blonde pointed out, straightening up from her stance.

"Yeah, well you aren't supposed to hit like one. Seriously, how many times have we been over this?" the dark haired girl demanded.

"I don't see why hitting like a girl is the equivalent to hitting weakly. Haven't you ever seen my mom chuck a wrench before?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Aunt Winry is a freak of nature," the other girl retorted, "Quit changing the subject. I know you can hit better than that,"

"Mina, I don't like hitting people," the blonde complained.

"And I don't like getting up early, but that doesn't stop you from dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn every morning. Now suck it up and hit me Adele," the dark haired girl ordered, settling back into a fighting stance impatiently. The girl in front of her grimaced, brushing her curls back from her face before hesitantly sinking into a stance of her own. Elmina rolled her eyes, "Don't look so enthusiastic. You're scaring me," her tone was dry. Adele stuck her tongue out, raising her arms in a guard. The two girls stared at each other for a moment. Then the blond lunged forward swiftly, closing the distance between them as she struck out with another punch at Elmina's face, putting more of her weight behind it. Elmina knocked it aside with a rising block before side stepping to allow the blonde's momentum to continue past her. But instead of staggering past her friend as was expected, Adele quickly reversed her forward momentum, swinging around to deliver a kick to her friend's exposed side. Elmina blinked in surprise, nimbly darting out of range of the attack before raising an eyebrow.

"Somebody's getting sneaky," she commented blandly. Adele sighed, straightening up and giving her friend a bemused look.

"I do know how to fight you know. Between you and Sara and AJ it would be amazing if I hadn't learned some stuff by now," the blonde commented.

"Doesn't matter how much you've learned if you refuse to practice regularly," Elmina retorted, relaxing from her guarded stance. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew both girls' attention to a figure at the back door of the shop.

"It never ceases to amaze me how you can twist Adele's arm into just about anything when you put your mind to it. Not even Sara can force her to spar anymore," the newcomer commented.

"AJ," Elmina greeted the young man. He was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed as he observed them. The sleeves of his loose shirt were rolled up past his elbows while a tool belt hung from his hips, various screwdrivers and wrenches glinting in the late afternoon sun. His hands and arms were streaked with grime and the occasional grease stain adorned his clothing. Straight brown hair fell to his shoulders, bangs sweeping across his forehead in a way that mirrored his mother's golden locks. The color set him apart from the rest if his blonde family. It was a trait inherited from his grandmother Trisha, just like Adele's curls.

"And to what honor do we owe this unexpected visit from our resident gear hermit Allen James?" the dark haired girl asked skeptically, resting a hand on her hip as she turned to face him. AJ's lips quirked in a laid back smile

"I'm just taking a brief break and wanted some fresh air. Besides, I wouldn't be such a hermit if the two of you would come visit me in the shop more often. Given the number of rush orders that came in this week I can't exactly spend the day chilling with you while you play around with alchemy and attack each other," he replied blandly.

"Mina isn't allowed to play around with alchemy. If you recall, she blew up our basement last time she tried that," Adele shot her dark haired friend a small grin. Elmina rolled her eyes.

"Not everyone is a prodigy alchemist like you Adele," she muttered. The blonde giggled slightly.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm a prodigy or not. You and alchemy aren't a healthy combination,"

"Yeah well, you wouldn't last 30 seconds against me in a real fight," Mina retorted. Adele smiled sheepishly in reply.

"By the way, Dad called earlier," AJ commented, expression growing sober. Both girls glanced at him in surprise.

"And?" Elmina demanded eagerly. The news that Uncle Al was unconscious in the hospital had come as quite a shock to the family. They still hadn't been informed of all the details, only that Al had been found passed out and taken to be checked over in Central. Her father Envy had remained in Central all week with Uncle Ed while they waited for some change in the unconscious man's condition, but so far he'd remained unresponsive.

"Nothing new," the brown haired mechanic shook his head, "Uncle Al still hasn't woken up yet," his tone was uneasy. Elmina frowned, glancing at Adele. Her friend's hands were clenched into fists.

"I wish I was there," the blonde's voice was tight, the distress plain in her expression, "I could _do_ something! I could help him," she turned pleading eyes on her older brother. Allen sighed.

"You don't know that. Your experience is limited to what you've gone over with Elior, and he's a doctor. If the doctors at the hospital don't know what's wrong, I'm not sure you'd be able to help," he pointed out, tone resigned. Adele frowned.

"I won't know unless I try," she muttered, staring at the ground.

Elmina stared at her friend sympathetically. She could understand her frustration. It was precisely for a situation like this that the blonde had been working so hard to hone her alchemic skills. She had spent years learning to use alchemy as a medical tool. It was possible to use alchemic power to augment the body's natural healing process, speeding things up and reducing the chances of permanent damage to whatever was affected. The technique was limited by the overall strength and health of the body itself and would be impossible for an average alchemist to attempt. It required too much finesse and an intricate understanding of the elements of a living creature. But Adele had been born with a natural talent that surpassed even her father and older sister Sara. She had a mind for it, and her patience and personality made her especially well-suited for the difficult field she'd chosen to tackle. Elior, Rose's son, had come up with the original idea. Having been trained as a doctor, he possessed much of the knowledge of anatomy which Adele had required. That, together with Sara's access to the large pool of knowledge provided to state alchemists, had allowed the younger girl to pursue the idea and make it a reality.

Elmina shook her head. She respected her friend's passion, but she'd never understood how the blonde could become so single-mindedly focused on such tediously boring things for hours at a stretch. Long after Elmina would be ripping her hair out and breaking things in frustration, Adele would continue to sit and ponder a complex alchemic challenge until she came up with a solution. Her patience level far exceeded the dark haired girl's. On top of which, Adele had made a valid point about her friend's skill with alchemy. Mainly that she had none; not that this particularly bothered Elmina. After discovering how abysmally complicated and annoying transmutations tended to be, she'd lost all interest in it. Her passions lay in a very different realm; one of sweat, adrenalin, and an intense focusing of the mind down to each moment, each breath, as one's body reacted without even needing to think. For Adele combat was a painful, high stress situation to be avoided at all costs. For Elmina it was a thrill.

"AJ, we're both old enough to take the train to Central," Elmina crossed her arms, fixing the brown haired boy with a stubborn look. AJ shook his head bemusedly.

"Look, if it were me I'd let you go. But you know as well as I do that both of our fathers have forbidden any of us from joining them there," he replied. Elmina blew several strands of hair out of her face in exasperation.

"I know! But _why_? It doesn't make any sense!" she protested, clearly frustrated. AJ shrugged.

"Beats the hell out of me. But I'm sure they have their reasons," his tone was resigned.

"Then why won't they share those reasons with us?" Elmina demanded. AJ's expression shifted, growing somewhat guarded. Elmina's eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding?" she asked suspiciously. He grimaced, glancing away.

"I'm not hiding anything. It's just idle speculation on my part… but if I had to take a guess I'd say they somehow stirred up something from their past that they don't want us involved in," his tone was flat. Elmina blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Something from their pasts?" Adele asked, her expression uncertain.

"Like what?" Elmina demanded with a frown. AJ sighed.

"I'm not sure. You know they aren't exactly chatty about that stuff, so I don't know any more than you do. But that place called the Underground City is supposedly in Central right? And Al seemed a bit odd when they headed out to visit Uncle Envy and Aunt Elsie. They left with barely any explanation and now they're in Central because something is wrong with Al and they don't want any of us to come visit… Seems a little fishy if you ask me," he replied simply. Elmina stared at him uneasily. They all knew their parents had somewhat colorful, complicated pasts. Well…maybe that was an understatement for her own parents. They had always been rather vague on the details and she'd always figured their stories were a little farfetched. But she knew there was at least _some_ truth to their wild tales. The Underground City had been mentioned occasionally, usually in the context of some villainous old lady that had caused a lot of trouble for her parents and uncles in the past.

"Do you think it might be something serious?" Elmina questioned, a frown still on her features.

"I don't know. But if it's important I'm sure we'll find out eventually," AJ's tone wasn't overly concerned. He pushed off the doorframe and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. "I should probably get back to work. By the way, isn't your mom arriving soon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Adele's eyes lit up.

"That's right! Aunt Elsie is coming today. We should go meet her at the station," the blonde suggested eagerly. Elmina shot her a wilted look. Her mother had decided to leave the butchers shop in the hands of Mason and Sig so she could help Winry out with Ed and Al's absence. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her mother; after all, she'd been away from home for several weeks now. But she recognized her friend's eagerness as more than just excitement over getting to see her favorite aunt.

"You'll take any excuse to get out of sparring," the dark haired girl muttered resignedly. Adele grinned, recognizing the defeat in her friend's tone.

"You girls had better head out now if you want to be there when she arrives," AJ said, strolling back into the shop.

"Alright!" Adele agreed, turning to walk briskly from the yard. Elmina shook her head and followed after her with a bemused smile.

* * *

The shop was located on the outskirts of Risembool, a good fifteen minute walk from the town center. The two girls strolled down the road side by side, walking at a leisurely pace.

"I hope you realize I'm going to make you spar again later," Elmina glanced at her friend pointedly. Adele rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Can't you leave it be? It's a beautiful day out, we should enjoy it. I know! Why don't we walk out to that field where they're grazing livestock?" she suggested.

"We went there yesterday," Elmina pointed out resignedly, "And no, I'm not going to leave it be,"

"I never force you to practice alchemy," Adele turned a plaintive gaze on her friend. Elmina smirked slightly.

"Because that would be bad for our health," she retorted dryly. Adele sighed.

"Where am I going to use these fighting skills anyway? It's not like I go around provoking people all the time like _someone_ I know," she raised an eyebrow at the dark haired girl. Elmina shook her head.

"Face it, you're jailbait. You'd be a walking target in some parts of Dublith," her tone was serious. Adele snorted.

"I'm_ hardly_ jailbait. And besides, I don't live in Dublith," she replied unconcernedly.

"You spend extended periods of time there!" Elmina pointed out, her tone frustrated. The blonde smirked.

"Yeah, but I'm with _you_ 24/7 when I'm there," she pointed out. Elmina sighed in exasperation.

"I can't protect you from everything you know. What if we got separated?" she demanded. Adele shook her head.

"You worry too much. It's not like we live in a war zone," she replied unconcernedly. Elmina shot a glare at her friend.

"You are as stubborn as a mule," she muttered. Adele let out a laugh.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Besides, it runs in my family," she replied lightly. The dark haired girl rolled her eyes.

A breeze swept past the two girls, blowing a cloud of dust down the dirt road. Despite the heat in the late summer wind, a chill prickled across Elmina's shoulders and down her spine. She stumbled slightly as an unpleasant, alien sensation invaded her core. It felt suspiciously similar to dread. She paused for a moment, glancing back over her shoulder in bewilderment, her gaze drawn to the small forest a fair distance from the road.

"Hey, are you ok?" Adele's tone was perplexed as she glanced back at her friend. Elmina frowned.

"Do you feel that?" she asked uncertainly, gaze still fixed on the forest. She didn't usually get premonitions, but she was suddenly getting a very bad feeling. It didn't make any sense, but the sheer intensity of the emotion was alarming.

"Feel what?" her friend stared at her blankly, "Is something wrong?" her tone grew slightly concerned. Elmina glanced back at the blonde.

"I…" she trailed off, gaze returning to the forest. The feeling was already receding, disappearing as rapidly as it had arrived. Maybe her imagination was just playing tricks on her… It wasn't a typical occurrence, but then again, she'd been missing more sleep than usual thanks to her blonde friend's habit of early rising...

"Uh…never mind…" she replied. With a final uneasy glance at the patch of trees she turned and continued pressing forward down the road. Adele blinked, a little confused by her friend's uncharacteristic behavior.

"Um…ok," she hastened to catch up with her.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Happy New Year! We all survived to 2014! I find this miraculous after the year I've had, but hey! Crazy stuff happens XD  
**

**So there you have it! First chapter of the story. I know it's painfully short, especially after that long prologue, but it's a necessary evil. Originally when I first started writing all of the chapters were **_**massive**_**. Then one of my beta readers kindly pointed out that it would probably work better if I split the chapters up. She was right. So occasionally there will be a short chapter like this one, although the majority will be longer than this. They'll also have a little more action in them…it pains me to have to first chapter consisting of just light chit-chat between character's you barely know...but…I've gotta introduce them somehow…**

**So you've met 3 of my main OC's! Just five more to go (counting the villains...which make their appearance next chapter...I'm excited xD). It is my hope that you will grow to love these characters (or at least tolerate them) as you get to know them. I'm not sure how it happened, but each of them waltzed into my mind almost fully formed from the start and demanded that I write them. So I hope you find them interesting rather than annoying and tedious… *sheepish***

**I've decided I'll upload a chapter every Wednesday. That way I can pretty much guarantee I'll have the story finished before I run out of chapters. Chapter 2 is where the action begins! So hang tight if you found this chapter somewhat boring. I promise it gets better ;)**


	3. Chapter 2 - Kidnapping

**Chapter 2 – Kidnapping **

The train station in Risembool wasn't exactly crowded, but there was still a surplus of travelers on a Sunday afternoon. Elmina scanned the faces of the passengers disembarking the recently arrived train. She and Adele stood at the back of the platform. The blonde had grown quiet, standing quite close to her dark haired friend as she fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt. Elmina sighed softly, glancing at the girl from the corner of her eye. Adele had always been rather shy and retiring when she was younger, but everyone had assumed she would end up growing out of it. Unfortunately she hadn't. Her seemingly irrational anxiety had only gotten worse with age. Even small crowds made her uncomfortable.

Elmina's gaze returned to the stream of people exiting the train. A moment later she spotted the small, curly haired woman she recognized as her mother stepping down onto the platform. A purse was slung over her shoulder, but she didn't appear to be carrying any other baggage. Elmina frowned. Her mom had been planning to stay for at least several days, so surely she should have brought at least something in the way of luggage... Then she noticed the tall, dark haired man following after her with a suitcase in each hand. She let out a gasp of surprise. Was it really him? Well… who else could it be? It had been over two years since she'd last seen him but he appeared almost exactly as she remembered him.

"Uncle Wrath!" She called, darting forward across the platform towards them. The dark haired man turned to stare at her blankly, but a moment later his blue eyes lit with recognition. He set down the luggage swiftly as she reached them and moved blindingly quickly towards her. The next thing she knew she'd been spun around and placed in a firm arm lock.

"I'm not sparring with you," Wrath's voice was stern. Elmina tilted her head back to grin at him, unfazed by his serious expression.

"You don't think I'd attack you in the middle of the train station, do you?" her tone was teasing. He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"You've done it before," he pointed out. She blinked in surprise before sheepishness crept into her expression. He had a point there… He released her a moment later and turned her back around to face him, giving her a critical once over. "You still haven't cut that mop of hair off yet? That could get you killed in a fight you know," he pointed out skeptically. Elmina snorted.

"You're one to talk," she retorted. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but mine is pulled back out of the way," he pointed out. Elmina shrugged.

"Whatever. My dad has survived for years with hair as long as mine and he never pulls it back," she replied.

"Your father is an idiot," Wrath stated bluntly, "He probably still thinks he's immortal,"

"Immortal?" Elmina gave him an odd look. Wrath shook his head.

"Never mind," he muttered, then swiftly changed the subject, "I can't believe how much you've grown," he sounded incredulous. Elmina's grey eyes narrowed.

"That's what happens when you disappear for _two years_!" she retorted reproachfully. He grimaced slightly before his gaze moved past her and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Adele?" he asked. The blonde had followed her dark haired friend and quietly greeted Elsie while Elmina and Wrath had had their exchange. The older woman's arm was draped across the girl's shoulders reassuringly. Adele gave the tall man a shy smile.

"Our little girls grew up into young ladies while you were away," Elsie commented bemusedly.

"No kidding," Wrath muttered, somewhat taken aback.

"Oh, hi Mom," Elmina greeted her almost as an afterthought, a sheepish smile on her face.

"It's nice to see you too," Elsie's tone was dry. Elmina darted over to slip under her mother's free arm, planting a swift kiss on her cheek.

"I missed you," she told her apologetically. The older woman smiled.

"And I missed you," she replied fondly, "_Both_ of you," she added, glancing at the blonde under her other arm.

"How have you been feeling?" Adele asked anxiously, glancing at the slight bump over the older woman's stomach.

"I'm just fine. Don't you worry about me," the dark haired woman reassured her. Wrath frowned.

"What does she mean?" he asked. Elsie glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, that's right. I suppose you wouldn't know. I'm pregnant," she informed him. His eyes widened.

"….Seriously?" it was the only response he could come up with. At this Elsie raised an eyebrow.

"What, did you think I'd just gotten fat since the last time you saw me?" she demanded. Wrath flushed quite noticeably.

"W-well… no, it's just….it's been so long… and I never expected—" His stammered response was cut off as Elsie began to chuckle.

"Relax. I'm teasing you," she smirked, "We were pretty startled as well. We're still wrapping our heads around the idea."

"No kidding…I guess you two will have your hands full in a few months," Wrath replied, though a concerned frown had found its way onto his face.

"Well, the baby isn't due until next year, so we have plenty of time to prepare," Elsie reassured him, not quite sure what was causing him to worry, "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Well…no. There are just some things I need to talk to you and Envy about later," Wrath replied evasively. Elsie frowned.

"Is this about why you disappeared for two years?" she asked.

"We'll talk about it later," he replied, tone indicating he wanted to drop the subject.

"Well…alright," Elsie agreed reluctantly.

"So what's Uncle Wrath doing here? And why won't dad and Uncle Ed let us go to Central?" Elmina demanded. Elsie sighed, glancing at her daughter.

"Why don't we head back to the Elric residence before we discuss that? It's complicated," she replied. Elmina regarded her flatly for a moment, but nodded. Now that her mother was here she was guaranteed some answers one way or another. She just had to be patient for a little while longer. Wrath picked up the suitcases which he'd set aside and the four of them began making their way past the groups of people on the platform. They were soon out of the train station and headed back down the road towards the automail shop.

The walk back passed swiftly with the two girls answering Elsie's questions about business at the shop and various bits of local gossip. The older woman was able to effectively dodge any questions the girls wanted to press her about regarding Al and their fathers, and both of them knew better than to try to get anything out of Wrath which he wasn't volunteering to share. By the time they'd arrived at the shop both girls had given up attempting to pry information out of them. For the time being anyway…

To the surprise of both Elmina and Adele their four person party was met at the door of the house by Winry herself. Neither of them had seen much of the older mechanic over the last week. There had been an unexpected surge in business lately; meaning neither Winry nor her son had had much time for anything outside of their jobs except eating and grabbing a couple hours of sleep here and there. With Ed and Al's unexpected absence there hadn't been anyone to take care of housework or other menial chores such as ordering supplies for the shop. Elmina and Adele had pitched in to help with the most critical things such as groceries and dishwashing, but much had fallen by the wayside. It was precisely for this reason that Elsie had make the decision to come and stay with them until Ed and Al returned.

Winry's smile was strained as she greeted them, although surprise flitted across her features upon spotting the tall, dark haired man accompanying them.

"Wrath! Where on earth have you been?" she demanded, sounding slightly flabbergasted. Wrath let out a resigned sigh.

"It's a long story," he replied vaguely. Winry fixed him with a look that promised a lecture later.

"Well I'm sure you'll have time to explain it while you're here," she replied flatly. Her gaze moved to Elsie and her expression wavered, the stress of the last week making its way to the forefront.

"Oh Winry," Elsie's tone was concerned as she stepped forward and enveloped her friend in a hug. The blonde woman returned it gratefully.

"I'm glad you're here," the mechanic sounded slightly hoarse. She looked exhausted. Her face was unusually pale, with prominent dark circles beneath her tired eyes and an overall tension radiating from her expression. Several strands of blond hair had slipped out of the handkerchief she usually wore over her golden locks, falling about her face in a slightly dishevelled manner. There was grease streaking her arms, smudged across her cheek, and staining her work clothes. Elsie pulled back, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"I swear Winry, when Ed isn't around to keep you in check you wind up trying to work yourself to death," her tone was slightly accusing.

"There's just so much to get done," the blonde woman's tone was mildly despairing, "And I'm worried about Al. Do you think it's possible that…?" she trailed off, worry evident in her gaze.

"We'll discuss that later," Elsie replied firmly, "Right now you need a bath, a hot meal, and some sleep,"

"I don't have time–" Winry began to protest by was cut off.

"Winry," the dark haired woman's voice left no room for argument, "You won't be doing anyone any favours by working until you collapse. It's not unheard of for automail shops to fall behind on their orders every now and then. Worst case scenario you could refund a few of the rush orders," Winry grimaced at this comment but Elsie continued, "I'll see what we can do to help AJ out while you rest, and then when you've had a chance to recover you can switch with him for a bit. I'm sure he could use a break as much as you," she pointed out. The mechanic wilted under her friend's unyielding gaze.

"Well…alright," her tone was resigned. She stepped aside to allow her guests into the house. "Do you want me to put on tea or something?" she offered distractedly, turning to head into the next room. Elsie grasped her friend's shoulders, halting her progression towards the kitchen and turning her instead to face down the hall.

"Bath first. I can take care of everything else," she told her patiently. Winry sighed, but shuffled off down the hall obediently, too exhausted to protest further. Elsie watched her disappear into the bathroom before turning to face her three companions.

"Alright, if you girls could give me a hand in the kitchen that would be wonderful," the two girls nodded and headed off into the next room as the dark haired woman turned her gaze on Wrath questioningly.

"I'll leave your suitcase in the spare room you usually use. Someone should look after Al's house while he's gone, so I'll stay there while I'm here. I'll be back once I drop off my stuff there and check over the place," he explained. Elsie nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll probably have something to eat whipped up by the time you get back. Although it depends on what they have in the way of groceries," she frowned. Then she hesitated a moment. "Wrath," she began, "While you're at Al's place, could you check to see if there's anything…well…suspicious there?" her tone was uncertain. The dark haired man raised an eyebrow.

"Why else do you think I'd be making a point of going there?" he asked dryly. Elsie blinked before smiling bemusedly.

"Right. Never mind me then. I'll see you in a bit," she replied, turning and making her way into the kitchen after the two teens.

* * *

AJ glanced up from the automail arm he was just finishing tweaking when the door opened and his younger sister entered followed by Elmina. He felt a surge of relief at the sight of the steaming plate of food in Adele's hand. He pushed his chair back from the workbench with a grateful smile.

"I guess this means Aunt Elsie is here. Mom isn't exactly in any condition to be cooking," he commented, accepting the plate which his sister handed to him along with the utensils.

"My mom is forcing your mom to rest up a bit. She'll come to relieve you once she's had a few hours of sleep. You're supposed to eat before you do any more work though," Elmina informed him, hopping up to sit on the end of his work bench.

"Well, mom needs the rest more than I do. I'll be fine," he replied, taking a bite and savouring the taste. They'd been living on swiftly scraped together leftovers for the last week. A freshly prepared meal was a nice switch. He saw the dark haired girl raise an eyebrow at him.

"You say that, but those purple smudges under your bloodshot eyes are telling a different story," she retorted dryly. He smirked at her as he took another bite.

"Uncle Wrath is here," Adele piped up. AJ nearly choked on his mouthful of food before he managed to swallow it. He coughed and cleared his throat.

"That guy is still alive?" he asked, his tone jokingly incredulous. Elmina rolled her eyes.

"Of course he is," her tone was slightly defensive of her favorite uncle.

"Hey, I'm just saying. Edgy lone wolf types don't typically pick safe lines of work. Did he say where he disappeared to this time?" AJ raised a skeptical eyebrow. The dark haired girl shook her head.

"I haven't had a chance to ask him," she replied with a frown.

"Hmm," he took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. Then he blinked as a thought occurred to him. "Oh, I forgot to mention, I got a letter from Sara. Apparently she's coming to visit with Titus this week. She'll be here tomorrow or the day after,"

"They're coming to visit?" Adele asked in surprise, "Has she heard about Uncle Al?" AJ shook his head.

"I doubt it. You know with her position in the military it's hard to keep tabs on where she is from week to week. Especially given she rarely sees fit to inform us of her location. We haven't been able to call her," he explained.

"She sent a letter? Doesn't she know how to use a telephone?" Elmina's tone was slightly condescending. The brown haired mechanic smirked knowingly.

"That would mean risking a two way conversation with her nosy parents. She's still revelling in her independence from mom and dad," he replied dryly. Elmina raised an eyebrow.

"Your parents aren't that bad. My dad would tie me up and lock me in the basement before he let me join the military," she pointed out. Adele chuckled slightly. AJ grimaced.

"You know Sara. She's…willful. I think mom would have tied her up if she could have. But dad convinced her to let her go," he replied. Elmina blinked.

"But isn't your dad dead set against the idea too?" her tone was puzzled.

"Yeah, but I think he gave up arguing with her. He said there are some things she'll just have to learn for herself," he replied simply, taking another bite of his supper.

"So she said Titus is coming too?" Adele inquired, shooting a knowing smile at her dark haired friend. Elmina's eyes narrowed.

"Shut up," she muttered. Adele grinned.

"What?" the blonde's tone was innocent. AJ's expression grew flat.

"I've never understood what you see in Mustang," his informed her. Elmina let out a growl of consternation.

"I don't see anything in him! He's an asshole," her tone was defensive. AJ smirked faintly but there was still a certain resignation in his gaze as it lingered on the dark haired girl. "And anyway, Titus doesn't like being called by his last name. People mix him up with his dad," Elmina pointed out.

"You might call him an ass, but you still think he's hot," the blonde girl smirked.

"Adele!" Elmina yelped in protest before her expression morphed into a glare, "You're one to talk. You like him too!" she pointed out heatedly. Adele giggled slightly.

"Maybe, but not as much as you," her tone was mischievous. Elmina's face had grown red.

"You're delusional," she snapped, "Just because he's attractive doesn't mean I _like_ him. He's a total jerk,"

"Uh-huh," Adele's eyes glittered with amusement. Elmina let out an exasperated huff before slipping off the workbench and storming out of the workshop. Adele chuckled again before following after her friend. "Awe, don't get mad," she protested sheepishly. AJ stared after them a moment before he shook his head bemusedly, returning his attention to his meal as the girls left.

* * *

The blonde caught up with her friend strolling down the road. The sun had sunk down near the horizon, painting the sky with a wash of orange, pink, and purple. The breeze from earlier had died off and the pleasantly sweet aroma from the wild sweet peas growing alongside the road filled the evening air. A few ambitious crickets had already started into their repetitive nightly song. Adele glanced at the dark haired girl walking beside her, feeling ever so slightly guilty.

"Sorry about teasing you," she told her apologetically. Elmina smirked bemusedly.

"Don't worry about it. You've got a point after all. I just wish I didn't find him attractive. He hates me," her tone was resigned.

"He doesn't hate you, you guys just rub each other the wrong way," Adele protested.

"He's disliked me from day one and you know it," Elmina glanced at her pointedly. The blonde sighed.

"It's just because he's got a stick up his ass whenever he's around you and your family," her tone was blunt. Elmina burst into startled laughter.

"Adele! I didn't know my innocent little half cousin knew how to be crude," her tone was amused. Adele stuck her tongue out at her.

"I would have to after spending so much time around _you_," she retorted, "And anyway, I'm not sure why but Titus seems to think your dad is evil incarnate in disguise," the blonde's tone was slightly amused. Elmina snorted.

"Uh-huh. Well for a guy that doesn't like being compared to his father I'd say he's a hypocrite," she muttered. Adele hummed in agreement. They continued walking in silence for several minutes until they reached a fork in the road.

"Do you want to head back?" Adele asked. Elmina shook her head.

"Mom won't be willing to explain anything until Aunt Winry and AJ have had a chance to rest up. Might as well hangout out here for a while or she'll rope us into doing housework," her tone was unenthused. The blonde smirked.

"Somebody sure is lazy," she commented dryly.

"Shut up," Elmina grinned sheepishly, "Lets head out to that field we went to the other day. It's a good spot to watch the sun set," she suggested, turning down the left hand fork. Adele followed after her without complaint.

They hadn't traveled far down the road before they turned and cut across the pastureland next to it. There was an old animal path worn into the ground which they followed through the uneven terrain. It led them up a slight hill to an old fallen tree surrounded by scrub and long grasses. The two of them sank down onto the old, weathered trunk side by side, watching what was left of the setting sun disappear below the horizon. They sat in companionable silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. They didn't need to speak, it was enough just to be in each other's company. Twilight began to close in, deepening the shadows around them. The moon was only a sliver in the sky, lending little of its silver light to the landscape. Finally Adele broke the silence.

"I hope we can talk your mom into taking us to central. I really want to see Uncle Al," her voice was softly anxious. Elmina glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

"I doubt she'd take us if dad still doesn't want us there," the dark haired girl murmured.

"I don't know. I've seen her stand up to your dad before. I remember her saying something about how living with him requires 'tactful firmness'," Adele grinned slightly. Elmina smirked.

"Oh she can tell him off when she wants to. The problem is she usually agrees with him when it comes to this sort of stuff," she replied ruefully. The blonde sighed.

"Well…we might be able to talk her around," her tone was faintly hopeful. Elmina shrugged.

"We might. I guess we should think about heading back. They'll get worried if we stay out too long after dark," she pointed out resignedly.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Adele replied, smothering a yawn behind her hand.

Elmina sighed, preparing to rise to her feet when an unexpected chill prickled across her skin. She blinked in surprise and frowned, glancing across the field into the gathering gloom. That strange feeling from earlier was coming back. A strange, anxious dread invaded her core making her shudder.

"Do you feel that?" she whispered, tone uneasy. Adele glanced at her in surprise.

"Feel what?" she sounded taken off guard. Elmina shook her head, rising swiftly to her feet as her gaze darted over the landscape searching for the threat that was suddenly setting every nerve in her body on edge. She could already feel adrenalin beginning to fizzle through her veins. It was difficult to see much in the low light levels but she got the distinct feeling that something was out there. Whatever it was, her fight or flight instinct was trying to kick into full gear. There was no movement her eyes could detect anywhere in the immediate proximity. There were patches of trees here and there in the distance, but none close enough to pose an immediate threat. What on earth was causing this?

"Is something wrong?" a slight frown settled across Adele's features as she rose to stand next to her. Elmina swallowed nervously, the feeling of growing agitation eating at her. Something was very wrong. She just didn't have a clue what it could be.

"I'm not sure…" she said, feeling her heart rate beginning to speed up uncomfortably, "I think we should—" her voice abruptly caught in her throat and her eyes widened as a cripplingly intense sensation crashed over her like a fiery wave.

"Mina, what is it?" Adele grabbed her friend's wrist, the tension radiating from the dark haired girl making her nervous. Elmina blinked repeatedly. What was this feeling? She felt herself beginning to tremble. It was like her blood had turned to fire, racing and burning throughout her body. A horrible devouring energy exploded through her limbs, making her gasp. She staggered slightly, bringing her arms in to wrap around herself tightly. It was like her body had spontaneously combusted. If she just held herself tightly enough maybe she'd be able to smother the invisible flames.

"Mina!" the alarm in her friend's voice brought her attention to a sudden stinging pain. Her nails had begun to gouge scratches down the sides of her upper arms as she clung to herself with a white knuckled grip. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, eyes scrunching shut as a faint whimper escaped her lips. She needed to move. She needed to run, jump, scream, hit something, _anything_ that would bleed off this energy before she disintegrated or completely lost her mind. But she couldn't move. The intensity left her paralyzed. She gasped in each breath of air, expecting her lungs to seize up on her at any minute. She was going to die. Hell she _wanted_ to die. Anything to escape this... Anything at all…

"Enough. She hasn't built up any tolerance for you yet. Don't break her," the voice which suddenly rang out behind them was chillingly devoid of emotion. Elmina felt Adele turn beside her and heard her give a fearful gasp. A feeling of panic shot through the dark haired girl. Someone was there! She had to get up! She had to do _something_! But she couldn't even turn her head to see what was causing her friend's alarm. A moment later the blonde girl gave a sharp yelp.

"_Mina!_" her voice was filled with a horrified terror. Elmina's eyes snapped open, a scream of outrage rising up in her throat and spilling out with startling force.

"_Adele!_" She cried desperately, still frozen in place. Another surge of energy washed through her, causing her to let out a gasp. To her growing fear she received no response. The presence of her friend standing next to her had disappeared. "Adele," she whimpered, slowly regaining use of her arms as the wave of fire passed. She gasped in several breaths, her head spinning from the invisible assault. A moment later she was able to push herself upright, arms trembling weakly from the effort. She glanced up and her eyes widened.

Her gaze was drawn to a lithe figure strolling towards her through the gloom. It was the only thing she could see and it moved with a captivating, feral grace. She couldn't look away. Long billowing trousers, a bare, muscular chest half covered by an odd, crop-top-like shirt with long sleeves that left the shoulders bare. Both were made of a strange, dark material which glinted with hints of deep crimson in the dim light. Her gazed was drawn up further, past the figure's neck and jawline and she was frozen in place by a pair of blood red eyes. They seemed to glow in the dark, making a shiver run through her already shaky form. An odd, crooked looking headband held back a wild mane of red hair cascading down past its bare shoulders to its waist, fluttering about with almost a life of its own in a breeze she couldn't feel. There was a wicked smirk twisting its lips, the alarming eyes dancing with an insane sort of glee. It was difficult to tell in the gloom with its long hair, but from the face shape and posture she uncertainly pegged the figure as male.

A bizarre feeling washed over her. Part of her mind was screaming that she needed to get away. She might be a fairly skilled fighter, but there was no doubt in her mind that this was a predator she wouldn't be able to beat; even if she wasn't already prostrated with weakness. There was something about the creature that terrified her, rattling her to the core of her being. There was no way the thing was human. No human could look like that; or move like that. There was an unnatural fluidity and grace about him that was alien to her. But she couldn't move; she couldn't look way. More disturbing was the fact that she didn't _want_ to look away. An electric sort of energy seemed to radiate from him… just looking at him felt oddly intoxicating. His expression was a confusing mix of threatening yet inviting. She was unnerved to realize she _wanted_ him to come closer. It was a bizarre contradiction of emotion.

The creature reached her a moment later, crouching down in front of her to peer into her face. Despite its lithe build and the wiry nature of its muscles she suspected it would still be at least several inches taller than her if they were both standing. It reached out, its fingers grasping her chin and tilting her head up slightly to get a better look at her. She gasped slightly in shock. His touch burned like fire. She wanted to jerk away from him but she couldn't move. She was still held captive by those ominous red eyes. She was slightly creeped out to realize that his pupils were slit like a cat's. His smirk grew to a grin, revealing some very sharp looking teeth.

"Well, well… you were easier to find than I expected," his voice was unexpectedly friendly. She regarded him with wide eyes, still unable to look away. She felt uncomfortably like a butterfly specimen, pinned to a board by his gaze. "Just so you're aware, if you want to find your friend she'll be waiting for you in Central," he informed her casually. Then he chuckled, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, "You and I are going to have _so_ much fun together," there was a wild light flickering in his eyes that sent a thrill of fear through her. This guy wasn't stable. He suddenly leaned in close, his lips brushing lightly against her ear, "Just you wait," his voice was low but gleeful. The feeling of his breath tickling across the side of her face and down her neck lit every nerve ending in her body on fire. She jerked away from him with a pained cry, eyes scrunching shut as she battled an intense desire to crawl out of her own skin to get away from the unpleasant sensation.

Then just as quickly as it hit her, it was gone. It was like someone had dumped a tub of water over her, quenching the flames beneath her skin. Her breathing was ragged as she glanced up to see what had become of her unnervingly alien assailant. A cold surprise settled over her as she realized he had disappeared. He was nowhere in sight. And neither was Adele. She was completely and utterly alone in the middle of the field.

"Adelina!" she tried to scramble to her feet, but her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed into the grass. Every muscle in her body trembled with exhaustion. It was like her limbs had turned into lead weights. She needed to get up. Her friend was in danger. It was her job to keep her safe! But her vision was growing hazy and dark around the edges. She could barely muster the energy to hold her head up. She fought desperately for a moment to get up and find help, but it was a losing battle.

"Adele…" she whispered painfully. A moment later her eyelids slipped shut and she lost consciousness.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Bwahaha! You've met the first "villain" of the story. I put that in quotes because he's really more of a "chaotic neutral" than he is evil. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses. I love writing him *chuckle* he's fun. That's really all I have to say about this chapter. I'll leave you sitting on this lovely little cliff hanger for a bit till I get the next chapter posted ;P**


	4. Chapter 3 - What Now?

**Chapter 3 – What Now?**

Winry, Elsie and Wrath sat around the kitchen table in the lamplight. The dishes from supper had already been cleared away. The blonde mechanic's elbows were on the table as she rested her head in her hands.

"You're telling me Dante took over Al somehow and opened the gate?" her voice was hollow. Elsie's expression was grim as she watched her friend across the table.

"We still don't know what she was trying to accomplish. It's been a week now and nothing has come of it except Al's comatose state," Wrath replied, his gaze unreadable. There was silence for a moment before Winry sighed, raising her head.

"So what now?" she asked. Wrath shrugged

"Now we wait. There isn't anything else we can do until Dante shows her hand. It's difficult to guess what exactly she was trying to accomplish. Or if she even succeeded for that matter," He pointed out. Winry chewed her lip anxiously, lost in thought. Elsie's gaze moved to rest on the dark haired man.

"So when are you going to explain what you've been up to for the last two years? You were in Aerugo weren't you?" she asked, green eyes studying him intently. Wrath opened his mouth to respond when AJ strolled into the room. The gazes of the three adults moved to him guardedly. It was an unspoken rule that the second generation was kept sheltered from the grittiest details of the past. If it wasn't a need to know piece of information then it was probably better left unsaid. As the kids had gotten older and more prying they'd been forced to share more details with them, but there were still topics that were considered taboo among the two families.

"Have Adele and Mina come back yet?" the brown haired mechanic asked. Winry frowned.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"They shouldn't be out this late without letting us know where they've gone," Elsie said, tone mildly concerned. AJ nodded, turning to leave.

"I'll go look for them," he sounded resigned.

"I'll go with you," Wrath said, standing and following the younger man swiftly from the room. Elsie blinked, staring after them.

"Why does he keep avoiding the question when I ask him where he's been?" she asked, puzzled. Winry shook her head.

"Who knows. I'm sure he has his reasons," she replied tiredly. Elsie sighed.

"I'll have to pin him down about it at some point. In any case, you need to sleep now," she fixed her blonde friend with a pointed look. Winry smiled wryly.

"Come help me tidy up the shop first. It's getting too cluttered to work efficiently. Then I promise I'll sleep," she replied, rising to her feet and making for the shop before her friend could object. Elsie shook her head bemusedly.

"Alright," her tone was resigned as she rose to follow after her.

* * *

The two men walked briskly down the road, a golden glow from the lantern in AJ's hand lighting their path.

"Any idea where they might have gone?" Wrath asked. AJ was silent for a moment.

"Well," he spoke finally, "There is one spot they took me to last week. We should check there first. After that we'll have to wing it," his tone wasn't overly thrilled as he strode forward to take the lead. They continued walking till they came to a fork in the road, at which point they turned left. A short time later they turned off the road and struck out across a large field. Wrath squinted into the shadows around them, straining to make out the vague silhouettes outside their ring of lamplight. He was able to make out an odd shape ahead of them which, as they drew nearer to it, he made out to be a large, fallen tree. There was something lying next to it in the grass. A moment later AJ let out a gasp.

"Mina!" he cried, springing forward towards her crumpled form. Wrath's heart froze up in his chest as he spotted the unmoving body of his niece. A number of thoughts darted through his mind as a feeling of dread gripped him. They had assumed Dante would target the Elric brothers, Envy, Elsie and/or himself. But perhaps that hadn't been her intent at all. Going after their children was an even more effective, easier route to take. And it was just the sort of thing someone like Dante would do. But what exactly had taken place here?

"Mina, talk to me," AJ had dropped to his knees beside the girl, carefully turning her over onto her back. She let out a soft groan and her eyelids flickered. Wrath felt some of the tension inside of him release. At least she wasn't dead. Still, technically Al wasn't dead either… He crouched down on the other side of his niece, noting the unfocused nature of her gaze as her eyes opened fully and she stared up at AJ. Well, unlike Alphonse she was at least conscious. That had to be a good sign. "What happened? Are you alright?" AJ demanded anxiously, still gripping her shoulders. Wrath's gaze moved over the dark haired girl critically looking for any injuries. She didn't appear to be hurt. In fact, she didn't even appear to have been in a struggle. No dirt, mussed hair or torn clothes. Even the ground in the immediate vicinity seemed unmarked by signs of a fight, although it was difficult to tell in the flickering light from the lamp.

"They took her," Elmina's voice was hoarsely distraught.

"Adele?" AJ questioned intently. The dark haired girl nodded slightly.

"They said they took her to Central…" her voice trailed off to a mumble and she blinked groggily.

"Who?" AJ demanded. She shook her head slowly and her eyes slid shut once more. "Mina?" he questioned uneasily. He received no response. She appeared to have lost consciousness. The brown haired mechanic glanced at Wrath, "What should we do?" he asked. The older man frowned.

"We need to get her back to the house. We aren't going to be able to track down who did this tonight," he replied grimly.

"Why not?" AJ's tone was sharp, his anxiety for his younger sister obvious.

"It's dark for one. And I don´t see any signs of people leaving the area. If they took Adele captive you'd think there would have been at least some sign of a struggle, but there isn't. I don´t know what we´re dealing with here. I can't track something if there's no trail and I don't know what I'm looking for. We need more information," Wrath's tone was blunt. AJ grimaced, clearly realizing his point.

"Alright, let's get her home," he agreed tensely. Wrath began to reach for his niece but was blocked by the younger man who beat him to it. AJ gathered the dark haired girl into his arms carefully, worry written all over his features as he stared down at her. Wrath raised an eyebrow. As his younger sister's best and lifelong friend, AJ's concern for her was normal; although the unnecessary protectiveness was interesting... The mechanic rose smoothly to his feet. The slight girl in his arms wasn't much of a burden, despite being almost entirely wiry muscle and bone. Wrath picked up the lantern that the younger man had set aside and together they set off back towards the shop.

* * *

When Elmina awoke confusion flooded through her groggy mind. She found herself staring up at the ceiling of Adele's room. She was lying in her cot next to Adele's bed and she was still in her everyday clothes. But she had no memory of how she had gotten there. Maybe Adele had… Her eyes widened and her mind froze as her gaze came to rest on her friend's empty bed. The knowledge crashed over her like a ton of bricks. Adele was gone. She'd been kidnapped.

"Adele!" she sat bolt upright with a rush of panic.

"Mina," a voice startled her, drawing her attention to her dark haired uncle who was seated in a chair opposite her. Wrath opened his mouth to continue but she cut him off.

"We need to go! We have to get her back! They took her and I don't know why, but we've got to—" she was beginning to scramble out of her cot with an uncharacteristic edge of hysteria growing in her voice before Wrath cut in.

"Mina," his voice had taken on a commanding tone, "Calm down," he ordered sternly. The girl's jaw snapped shut and she ceased her attempt to rise. There were two people in the world she obeyed unquestioningly when they used that tone. One was her father, and the other was her dark haired uncle. She let out a shaky breath, staring down at the bed sheets. There was a desperate panicky part of her that wanted to scream in frustration and break down crying. This was all her fault. How could she have let this happen? Adele had _needed_ her and she'd been utterly useless. The thought of what those people might be doing to her at that very moment terrified her.

Just then the door burst open and Elsie strode in with Winry and AJ hot on her heels. Elmina met her mother's green eyed gaze, seeing a mixture of worry and relief there. The curly haired woman approached the cot, leaning over to brush wild bangs out of her daughter's eyes and rest a hand on the girl's forehead, checking her temperature as she looked her over critically.

"What happened?" Elsie asked, her tone gentle but firm.

"They took Adele," Elmina's throat was tight.

"Who is _they_?" AJ demanded, coming to stand next to Elsie. An uncharacteristic frown creased his brow and he appeared exhausted. Elmina noted distractedly that he looked worse than earlier. Judging by the late morning light streaming in through the window, she'd been unconscious for the entire night. But given the circumstances she doubted anyone else had gotten much sleep, if any. She shook her head.

"They weren't human," she swallowed hard, forcing the lump in the throat away as she turned her thoughts toward the mysterious attackers the night before. Elsie's expression went blank while alarm flashed across Winry's features. The blonde woman rested a hand on the back of Wrath's chair, gripping it tightly. Wrath narrowed his eyes at the girl across from him.

"How do you know?" he demanded. Elmina shuddered slightly.

"Trust me, if you'd seen this guy you'd understand," her tone was slightly disturbed, "I mean he had pointy teeth and slit pupils for one thing," she explained. Winry drew in a sharp breath while Elsie's eyes widened in shock and she grew pale. Wrath's expression went from startled to grim.

"Did he have a tattoo that you could see?" He asked. Elmina hesitated, somewhat taken off guard by the seemingly random nature of the question.

"You mean like an Ouroboros…?" she asked. It was the only thing that seemed to even remotely fit the context, given that tattoos weren't usually a common topic in either household. She was familiar with what the design looked like, and she'd overheard vague references to people with tattoos like that, but she wasn't sure what that had to do with the current situation. Wrath nodded. She frowned in puzzlement. "Not that I noticed," she replied uncertainly.

"How many were there?" AJ asked.

"I think there were just two of them. But I only got a look at one of them. He kept me busy while the other one took Adele," she explained.

"What did he look like?" her mother asked, tone strained with concern.

"Well, he had really long red hair and red eyes," Elmina replied, picturing the lithe figure in her mind's eye. She doubted she'd be forgetting that face anytime soon.

"Red eyes, not purple?" Elsie's eyebrows raised in surprise. Her daughter frowned in puzzlement.

"They were definitely red," she stated flatly. Her mother and Wrath shared a look.

"What else did you notice about him?" Wrath returned his gaze to her.

"His clothes were a little weird. I mean he was wearing long pants and a crop top," she replied, clearly finding this odd. Wrath's expression went blank.

"A crop top?" he asked. His tone was wavering on the edge of an emotion she couldn't quite place. Her mother sighed softly.

"Never trust men in crop tops," the dark haired woman muttered under her breath. Wrath's lip twitched.

"At least he wasn't wearing a skirt," he pointed out dryly. Elmina stared at them blankly, not following the direction the conversation had taken. AJ was giving the two of them an odd look as well. Wrath shook his head, expression growing grave once more.

"You say he kept you busy? I didn't see any signs of a fight in the area," he pointed out. Elmina's jaw clenched.

"That's because there wasn't one," she replied through gritted teeth, "He had some weird power. He didn't even have to get close to me to use it. It was like he lit my blood on fire. There was so much energy burning in me I thought I was going to explode. I couldn't do a damn thing because I couldn't even move," her hands clenched into fists on the bed spread in frustration. Elsie blinked, expression wavering slightly. Wrath raised an eyebrow at the dark haired woman.

"What is it?" he asked. Elsie frowned for a moment.

"I…its nothing," she shook her head, although her tone was a little uncertain.

"You said they took her to Central?" AJ asked, a slightly impatient edge to his voice, "How do you know?"

"Because that's what he told me. He said if I wanted to find her she'd be waiting in Central," Elmina replied tensely. Another silence followed. Finally the brown haired mechanic shook his head.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why take Adele and leave Mina?" his tone was frustrated.

"Probably so I could come back and tell you where they'd taken her," Elmina muttered.

"Yeah, but why? What are they trying to accomplish by doing this? If Dante wants revenge why not just kill the two of you?" he demanded. His words seemed harsh, but he sounded more puzzled than anything. Winry's expression deteriorated alarmingly at her son's words. Elsie rested a hand on her friend's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"If they're going to the trouble of taking her hostage then they don't have any reason to hurt her," she pointed out gently.

"How do you know about Dante wanting revenge?" Wrath said, his eyes narrowing at AJ.

"I overheard the three of you talking last night," the brown haired teen replied frankly, "But it's not exactly surprising. I figured it all must have had something to do with your past." At this Wrath grimaced.

"Well for now we can't assume anything. It's more than likely this is somehow Dante's doing, but we don't know if the kidnappers are acting under her direct orders. They may have ulterior motives we aren't aware of," he pointed out.

"But what could they possibly accomplish by this?" Winry demanded, her tone guarded. Wrath shook his head.

"We have no way of knowing at the moment, but I suspect we'll find out in Central," his tone was grim. At that moment they heard the sound of the front door slamming.

"I'm home!" A voice called, "Where is everyone?" AJ's eyes widened.

"Sara," he breathed. Winry inhaled sharply.

"She's here?" she demanded disbelievingly, "Of all the times for her to show up…" she actually sounded rather annoyed, expression unenthused.

"But it's a good thing," Elmina protested, "She can help us look,"

"If she'd been here in the first place this might not have happened," Winry replied sharply, turning and heading out of the room. Elmina stared after her with a mixed expression feeling as if she'd just been slapped. AJ gave her an apologetic look.

"Mom's just overstressed. Don't take it personally," he advised, before turning and following after his mother. Elmina frowned, gazing down at her clenched fists.

"This is my fault," she whispered, nails biting into her palms.

"Don't blame yourself," Wrath's tone made her glance up at him, "Up against something Dante dragged up, Sara wouldn't have been able to fend it off any better than you," his tone was firm, although his gaze was distant as he mulled over old memories. Elmina shook her head. She didn't know much about the specifics of what he was referring to. But regardless, she should have been able to do _something_! What was the point of training to fight when she couldn't even protect her best friend when she needed it most?

"Do you feel up to going out to see her?" Elsie asked. Elmina swallowed, feeling an unpleasant sinking feeling in her stomach. She wasn't looking forward to explaining to the older girl that she'd allowed her baby sister to be kidnapped. With a grimace she slid her legs out of bed.

"Let's go," she replied grimly.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Another short chapter mainly consisting of chitchat. There are a bunch of comments I'd love to make, but I don't want to give anything away so you'll just have to keep reading and find things out as you go. Is everything making sense so far? Anything confusing the hell out of you? You'll be meeting two more OCs in the next chapter: Sara Elric and Titus Mustang. Something to look forward to…or dread, depending on whether or not you're finding my OCs boring… *sweat drop***


	5. Chapter 4 - Friends and Family

**Chapter 4 – Friends and Family**

Sara Elric, the Luminescent Alchemist, stood in the middle of the kitchen facing off with her mother. The silver pocket-watch awarded to all state alchemists rested in her pocket, the chain attached to a leather belt at her waist. Silver bracelets jingled softly on her wrists, transmutation circles and alchemic symbols carved along the insides of them. While she possessed her mother's slender curves, for the most part she was the spitting image of her father. The stubborn jawline, long, golden blond hair pulled back in a high pony tail, and bangs framing a pair of large golden eyes all mirrored the features of the acclaimed alchemist. She had also, not surprisingly, inherited a somewhat fiery temper.

"_What?!_" her shriek made everyone in the room flinch, save for her mother. "How come nobody told me about any of this?" she demanded, eyes flashing with anger.

"That's what happens when you cut off all connection from your family," Winry's tone was frigid as she stared her daughter down, arms crossed. "If you'd been here maybe you could have done something to prevent it,"

"Excuse me?" Sara's tone was outraged, "You're blaming this on _me_? And I suppose it's also my fault that Al went crazy?"

"Sara," Winry began, but her daughter cut her off.

"Look, it isn't _my_ fault that you and dad have a screwed up past. And what's Mina? Chopped liver? If she couldn't fend off the kidnappers then that says something," she snapped, "If anyone is to blame here it's you and dad and the rest of you for keeping us in the dark!" her tone was ruthless. Winry's jaw clenched, face pale as she stared at her daughter. There was a tense silence for a moment. Then Winry turned and left the room without a word. Elsie stared after her in concern before letting out an exasperated sigh as she fixed Sara with a disapproving look.

"Your mother feels bad enough about the situation as it is without you rubbing it in her face. That was uncalled for," the dark haired woman's tone was serious. Sara's expression grew mutinous.

"So is blaming the problems that _you_ all caused on me," she retorted. Elsie shook her head in resignation and turned to follow after the blonde mechanic.

It was a moment before anyone spoke. Finally Sara let out a shuddering breath, raising a hand to her to cover her face as her shoulders drooped. AJ crossed the room in several swift strides and pulled his sister into a tight embrace. The blonde girl made no move to resist, resting her face against his shoulder as she gripped the front of his shirt. Despite being two years younger than his sister, in many ways the brown haired teen appeared to be the older of the two. He was certainly taller than her, in any case. It was a moment before Sara finally spoke again.

"I swear, if they hurt a hair on her head I will _kill_ them," the ferociousness of her tone was tempered by the sound of forcefully held back tears.

"You and me both," AJ's voice was soft but steely. After a moment she pulled back from her brother, swallowing hard and turning to face Elmina and Wrath.

"Tell me everything," she demanded, her expression grim.

"Why don't we sit down?" Wrath suggested. The blonde nodded and together the four of them made their way into the living room.

"I think I should start with what took place in Central," Wrath said once they had all found seats on the chairs and couch. He began his explanation with how he had met Envy and the Elric brothers at the train station in Central. Neither Elmina nor AJ had heard the full story and so they and Sara listened with rapt attention.

"I don't understand," Sara frowned when he finished, golden eyes puzzled, "How did this Dante lady take over Al? And why now?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Wrath replied. His gaze moved to his dark haired niece sitting next to Sara. Her expression was brooding as she stared at the floor. "I think it would be best for Mina to explain what took place last night," he stated. She lifted her troubled grey eyes to his calm blue ones before nodding. Gathering her thoughts, she retold what had taken place the day before, beginning with what she had felt earlier in the day when they'd walked together to the train station, then jumping ahead to that night, describing the kidnapping and the unnatural assailants. When she finished she stared down at her hands resting in her lap.

"I'm sorry," she said hoarsely, expression ashamed. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. She glanced up and met the older girl's gaze. There was a frown on her face, but her golden eyes were filled with understanding.

"Don't beat yourself up," Sara advised firmly, "Everyone knows if there was anything you could have done you would have done it. We'll get her back," there was no room for argument in her tone, her expression filled with a stubborn determination. Elmina blinked, then her expression hardened with resolution and she nodded. Sara turned to Wrath.

"We need to go to Central," she said. The dark haired man nodded. AJ let out a tired sigh.

"There's no way I can leave mom to deal with all these orders on her own. I'll have to stay here," he told her, a resigned frustration in his tone.

"I'll go," Wrath stated, nodding in acknowledgement of the brown haired teen's comment.

"Actually, on that note, where is Titus? I thought you said he was coming with you?" AJ asked his sister. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"He's waiting back in town. To quote him: 'You're just going to come storming back here within the next half hour anyway. I might as well wait here and save myself the trip,'" she mimicked his tone sarcastically.

"He's got a point," Wrath murmured innocuously. Sara shot him an unenthused look but otherwise ignored his comment.

"We should go. The sooner we get there and start searching the better," she stated.

"We should grab breakfast first. Mina hasn't eaten since last night," Wrath pointed out.

"I'm not hungry. Besides, we can eat on the train," Elmina replied, rising to her feet. Her uncle studied her expression for a moment before nodding.

"AJ," he turned to the brown haired teen, "Could you grab some bags? Mina will need to pack and we should bring some stuff along for Adele as well," he said. AJ nodded.

"I'll be right back," he stood swiftly and left the room.

It didn't take long to make the necessary preparations for leaving. There wasn't much to bring, and everyone was eager to be on the road as soon as possible. They didn't have a number to contact Envy and Edward in Central since they didn't have room specific phones in the hotel they were staying at. The family had simply awaited the two of them to initiate the calls thus far. There was an unpleasant feeling of urgency to relay the terrible news to them and it wasn't likely to be taken well by either of them. With this in mind they said their goodbyes briskly as the stood on the front porch. Elsie looked her daughter over critically.

"Your dad isn't going to be happy to see you there," she pointed out. Elmina scowled. Unlike Sara she possessed a reasonably good relationship with her parents. But at the moment she was thoroughly frustrated with both of them. More so her father, since he was the one the most at fault in her mind.

"I don't give a damn. None of this would have happened if we'd been allowed to go to Central in the first place," she replied bluntly. Elsie grimaced and nodded, then pulled her daughter into a swift hug.

"Be careful," she ordered, releasing her reluctantly and stepping back to stand next to Winry. Sara fixed her blonde mother with a determined gaze.

"We'll get her back if it's the last thing we do," Sara told her firmly. Winry nodded but said nothing, blue eyes clouded with a mixture of worry and guilt. The young woman turned her golden eyed gaze on Wrath. "Let's go get Titus," she said. He nodded.

"I'll walk with you guys into town," AJ said, stepping forward. He had a bag slung over each shoulder.

"I can carry one of those," Elmina offered. He shook his head.

"It's fine. Let's go," he replied. The four of them turned and set off down the road towards town.

* * *

_**Several hours later…**_

The passenger train rumbled down the tracks through the countryside towards Central. The seats were set up back to back, meaning four people could sit together. Elmina sat by the window with Wrath sitting next to her. Sara sat across from Wrath, and beside her, across from Elmina, sat a young man. His name was Titus Mustang, and he often traveled together with Sara as the two of them pursued similar subjects of research. His burnt orange shirt and spotless white breeches were rather eye catching. Elmina was glaring at him darkly. His piercing, reddish brown eyes were fixed pointedly on the landscape out the window, ignoring her. His coal black hair was pulled back in a low horsetail, bangs trimmed to just above his eyes. He possessed a strong jawline, straight nose, and an air of absolute confidence that was both sexy and utterly infuriating. Finally his gaze shifted and he glanced at her.

"Can I help you with something?" his tone was cool, his expression unfazed by her hostility. Elmina ground her teeth in frustration, ignoring the butterflies inside her that always fluttered to life whenever she met his gaze. His comments from earlier still burned in the back of her mind, making her flush with anger.

_They had reached the place where Titus was waiting not far from the station in Risembool. The first words out of Sara's mouth had been about the kidnapping of her younger sister. Titus's typically cool and collected demeanour had vanished and he'd turned on Elmina, who was rarely ever separated from Adele's side. _

_ "You just let them take Adele? What the hell is the matter with you?" the young man's tone was harsh, eyes glittering with hostility._

_ "Do you think I wanted this to happen?" the dark haired girl snapped, voice raised defensively. She was slightly taken aback by his vehemence. Sure Adele was his friend's younger sister, but did that warrant an explosion? _

_ "Either you were careless, or you don't care about her as much as everyone thinks," he retorted darkly. Elmina's eyes widened, reeling from the uncalled for accusation. _

_ "Titus, lay off," AJ cut in, reaching out and pushing dark haired young man back a step from the younger girl. His tone was even, but his eyes were telling another story entirely. Titus's furious gaze turned on him but the brown haired teen's expression gave him pause. AJ was the least quick tempered of his family next to Adele. But that didn't mean he didn't possess one. It dawned on the dark haired alchemist that he must have crossed a line. He wasn't used to seeing such a threatening intent in the brown haired teen's gaze. He stepped back slightly, reining in his temper. _

_ "Alright," his tone had grown significantly calmer, though he continued to hold eye contact with the mechanic unyieldingly. _

_ "We don't have time for arguing. We need to get to Central. They said they took her there," Sara informed her dark haired companion. Titus nodded._

_ "Then what are we waiting for? Are they all coming with us?" He asked his blonde companion, nodding at AJ, Elmina and Wrath._

_ "Just Wrath and Mina. I can't leave mom on her own with the shop," AJ told him evenly. _

_ "Alright then. I'll go and get our tickets," the dark haired alchemist replied, brushing past the brown haired teen and strolling away. AJ turned to stare after him for a moment, expression unreadable. Finally he turned back to the others._

_ "I guess this is goodbye," he told them, his tone reluctant. Sara stepped forward to lock him in a hug._

_ "We'll be back soon. And Adele will be with us," she promised him, releasing him and stepping back. He nodded, passing her one of the bags hanging over his shoulders. Then he turned towards Elmina with the other one._

_ "Don't let Titus push you around," he told her seriously. The dark haired girl snorted, taking the bag from him._

_ "As if," she retorted. He smiled at her faintly, although there was concern in his expression._

_ "Don't worry," Wrath told him, "One of the reasons I'm coming along is to keep the two of them from killing each other," _

_ "Hey, I can keep Titus in line when necessary," Sara pointed out, slightly defensive. _

_ "I know. It's not Titus I'm worried about," the dark haired man replied dryly. Elmina shot her uncle a glare._

_ "Very funny. Lets go," she muttered, turning and heading off towards the train station after the infuriating alchemist. _

"Didn't your parent's ever teach you it's rude to stare?" Titus's voice jarred her out of her flashback, "Then again, I suppose I shouldn't expect social etiquette to be your strong suite. Not after being raised by a palm tree," his tone was aloof.

"Careful pony boy. My dad could break you in half," Elmina retorted sharply. The young man snorted.

"I'd like to see him try," his tone was unconcerned. Elmina's eyes narrowed.

"So would I," she muttered.

"You know, Titus, I forget how immature you are until I stick you and Mina in the same room together," Sara commented amusedly. Titus shot a rather offended look at the blonde sitting next to him.

"I'll have you know that for a man my age I am exceptionally mature," he replied indignantly. Sara rolled her eyes.

"You just keep telling yourself that," she replied dryly.

"Hmph," he made a dismissive sound before turning to stare back out the window. Elmina continued to glower at him, thoroughly irritated.

"Hey," Sara waved a hand in front of the younger girl's face to get her attention, "Let's play cards or something," she suggested, clearly trying to forestall any more comments.

"We need to be across from each other for that," Elmina grumbled. Sara turned to stare pointedly at the alchemist sitting next to her. When Titus finally turned to meet her gaze again he raised his eyebrows.

"What?" he demanded.

"Move," the blonde ordered flatly. Titus stared at her disbelievingly for a moment. Sara's expression made it clear her request wasn't up for debate. With a long suffering sigh the dark haired young man rose to his feet, allowing the blonde the scoot over next to the window. He sat down across from Wrath, shaking his head.

"Women," his tone was exasperated, "I'm never getting married," he muttered. Wrath smirked.

The rest of the ride passed slowly. Little was said. There was an anxiety eating at each of the four of them that wasn't very conducive to conversation. It was a relief when the train finally arrived in Central. It was late evening and the sun was low in the sky. Wrath led them out of the station and they continued on foot to the hotel near the hospital which Ed and Envy were staying at. It was an older building, decently maintained but weathered with age. As they neared the door into the lobby Titus tapped Sara on the shoulder.

"I'll meet you back here in a little while," he told her, before strolling away without further explanation. The blonde stared after him a moment, then shrugged and followed her uncle and half cousin into the lobby. She was used to the eccentricities of her traveling partner. One of which was his need to completely avoid Elmina's father. She'd never gotten a decent explanation out of him about why he reacted so adversely to the man. It was just something she'd grown to accept.

Envy and Edward were staying on the third floor of the hotel. Wrath led them up the stairs and came to a stop outside one of the rooms on that level. He raised a hand and knocked sharply.

"They might both still be at the hospital," he warned. Several moments passed. Then finally the door swung inward to reveal a rather groggy looking former homunculus blinking at them. As soon as the green haired man's gaze landed on his daughter however, all signs of sleepiness disappeared.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, grey eyes flashing dangerously. Elmina glowered at him, not seeing fit to respond.

"We need to talk," Wrath told him grimly. Envy's gaze moved to the dark haired man for a moment, annoyed but clearly puzzled. Then his gaze fell on the blonde girl standing next to his daughter and he suddenly seemed to realize she wasn't his daughter's usual childhood friend.

"Sara?" he asked incredulously, "Where did you come from?" his eyebrow was raised. The blonde smirked faintly.

"Long time no see Uncle Envy," she replied. The green haired man shook his head slightly.

"You sure know how to time your visits. Your father is too tired and distracted to muster up any sort of half decent lecture for you," he commented bemusedly. Sara's expression grew grim.

"Unfortunately he's going to have more to distract him than just Al's condition," she told him. Envy's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Let us in and we'll explain it to you," Wrath replied, tone serious. Envy frowned, but moved away from the door, allowing them to follow him inside.

It was a small hotel room, with only a sitting area, a bedroom and a washroom. Sara and Elmina settled onto the old sofa against one wall while Wrath took a chair next to them. Envy sank into a chair across from his daughter and niece.

"Where is my dad?" Sara's tone was puzzled.

"He's back at the hospital. We've been keeping watch over your uncle in shifts. Not that there's really much point in it. He hasn't so much as stirred since we brought him there," Envy sounded tired, "Alright, what's going on? Why is my daughter here despite my order to remain in Risembool?" he fixed a hard gaze on Elmina. The dark haired girl raised her chin rebelliously, grey eyes meeting grey in an irritated stare-off.

"They kidnapped Adele," Elmina's tone was blunt, getting straight to the point. Her father's eyes widened in shock, clearly taken off guard. Then they narrowed.

"Who?" he demanded sharply.

"We believe they are creatures Dante summoned from the gate. They might be Homunculi. There are certainly similarities. But we can't say for sure," Wrath told him, meeting his gaze gravely. Envy let out a breath, sitting back in his chair and staring into space with an unreadable expression.

"Tell me everything," he demanded finally.

It didn't take long to explain. Envy remained silent with a very serious expression on his face as the story was told. His frown deepened when Elmina explained what the red haired assailant had told her regarding Adele's location if they wished to find her. When she finished silence reigned in the room. Envy sat leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, fingers woven together in front of him and a calculating expression on his face as he stared at the floor. Finally he looked up, fixing his gaze on his daughter.

"I hate to point out the obvious, but this is a trap," his tone was flat. Elmina frowned, appearing to want to object, but Envy shook his head. "They don't want Adele. They're just using her as bait,"

"How do you know that?" Sara asked, expression speculative. The green haired man smirked bitterly.

"Trust me on this. I know," he replied.

"Then what are they after?" the blonde demanded. Envy frowned, gaze moving back to his daughter. He had a hard expression on his face as he thought. Finally he shook his head.

"I can't say for sure at this point," he replied grimly.

"Well if they're using her as bait then they probably won't hurt her," Elmina stated cautiously. Envy's expression grew incredulous.

"Never make assumptions like that!" he snapped, "If these creatures are homunculi then the longer we make them wait, the more danger she's in,"

"But what reason would they have to—" Elmina's protest was cut off by her father.

"Haven't you ever heard of sadism?" he demanded sharply. Elmina's jaw snapped shut, an expression of frustrated dismay on her face. "Homunculi aren't governed by any sort of moral code. They do what they want when they want, and I can assure you they have no noble intentions. They enjoy making humanity suffer," his tone was severe.

"And you know this how…?" Sara demanded skeptically, "I thought homunculi didn't exist anymore," her tone was puzzled. Envy gazed at her flatly.

"I'm sure you've been told that both Wrath and I were at one time homunculi ourselves," his tone was unenthused.

"But…like for real?" Sara's expression was startled, "I thought those were just stories…" she sounded unconvinced. Envy rolled his eyes.

"_True_ stories," Wrath told her dryly. Elmina was staring at her father intently.

"Why did mom say not to trust guys in crop tops?" she asked finally, her tone puzzled. Everyone else in the room stared at her, utterly taken off guard by the off topic question. Envy blinked.

"She said that?" he demanded. Wrath tried somewhat unsuccessfully to hold back a smirk.

"She's got a point you know," the dark haired man pointed out.

"Are you saying I'm not trust worthy?" Envy sounded slightly miffed.

"You weren't when you were wearing crop tops," Wrath's tone was grave, but his eyes glittered with amusement.

"Wait, you use to wear _crop tops_?" Elmina was floored, staring at her father with wide, slightly disturbed eyes.

"We both did," Wrath's lips had twitched into a grin at his niece's reaction. Sara was now staring at the two men with a very odd look on her face. The green haired man took in the expressions of both girls and he let out a resigned sigh.

"You're all so prejudiced against good taste," his tone was slightly rueful. There was an awkward silence.

"You are the only male I know who thinks skirts on men is good taste," Wrath's tone was dry. Envy turned to stare at him with an expression of utter betrayal.

"That was a _skort_," he snapped defensively. Wrath snickered. Elmina was staring at her father with very wide eyes. Was Wrath implying that her father had worn both a crop top _and_ a skort? She momentarily tried to picture it, and then wish she hadn't. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Oh man…so disturbing…they had to be kidding…that was just…scarring.

"I'm sorry…..but I am never going to look at either of you the same way again," Sara's voice was slightly hoarse and she sounded like she was making an effort not to start laughing.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Elmina eyed her father with a disturbed expression.

"Some other time," Envy muttered, shaking his head.

"In any case, getting back to the subject at hand, I agree with Envy. But we still don't know for sure that these are actually homunculi," Wrath pointed out.

"What else could they be?" the green haired man shot him an odd look.

"With Dante, who knows?" Wrath shrugged.

"Well regardless," Sara spoke up, "This simply reaffirms that we need to find her as soon as possible. I don't care if it's a trap," her tone was obstinate. Envy sighed.

"We need to talk to your father and see if we can come up with something. At this point we don't even know where to start looking. Although something tells me that they'll end up coming to us," the green haired man grimaced.

"Well let's go then," Elmina sounded impatient.

"I don't want you leaving the hotel room," Envy told her sharply, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument. Elmina's expression lit with outrage.

"You can't tell me all that and then not let me do anything!" she cried in protest. Envy regarded her severely.

"I've told you these things because I want you to realize that you can't afford to be naïve when going up against this sort of foe. You'll remain here with Wrath. I will not lose you as well," he told her sternly. Everything about his words made her want to rebel, but she knew better than to argue with him when he took that tone. Her hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her palms while she seethed silently at him. Envy and Sara rose to their feet. "Let's get going," Envy said, turning and strolling from the room. Sara shot an apologetic glance at the dark haired girl still sitting on the couch, before following after her uncle.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Eheheh… Envy and Elmina usually have a better relationship than this... Envy's just…overprotective….for good reason I might add. **

**You know, Envy pulls off a crop-top and skort pretty well all things considered. But if Envy was your dad (and a 38 year old man at that)…..****well...enough said.  
**

**So now you've met Sara and Titus. Any thoughts? Don't write Titus off just yet. The reasons for his behavior are somewhat complicated and explained at a later date ;)**

**Oh, I'd like to add that despite appearances I'm actually a Winry fan. She's just portrayed as a somewhat bitchy lady in this book x'D this is due in part to the fact that in the 2003 fma, Winry was a lot...less likeable...than she was in Brotherhood. She's also currently an overstressed mother trying to run a busy business and look after and worry about her family during less than happy circumstances without her spouse around to help. That would bring out the less than pleasant side in all of us I suspect lol.**


	6. Chapter 5 - We're Baaack!

**Chapter 5 – We're Baaack!**

Elsie was sitting on the couch in the living room. Though the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon she'd sent both Winry and AJ to bed. They were in desperate need of sleep. She herself was in need of some as well, but at the moment she couldn't face lying down just yet. There was a feeling of disquiet in her mind. Something was bothering her. She just couldn't quite lay a finger on what it was specifically. Her hands moved in a mindless rhythm with the partially finished crochet project which was resting in her lap. The metal hook in her hand flowed in a familiar dance among the threads, giving her something to distract her from her unease. It was true she had more than enough things to worry about at the moment. Between Al's condition, her husband's likelihood of being in harm's way, and now her daughter headed off to join him…not to mention Adele's disappearance, Winry's emotional condition and the knowledge that Edward was about to receive some terrible news. And there really wasn't anything she could do to help, save for supporting Winry and taking care of things for her. Even if there was something she could do, she rather doubted her protective husband would allow her into the thick of things with her pregnancy.

She frowned. These were definitely all things she was concerned about. But the feeling growing inside her wasn't specifically attached to any of those issues. It was also…unnervingly familiar. Several moments passed, with the ticking of the clock on the wall and the sound of the crochet hook moving against the yarn being the only things that could be heard in the house. Then suddenly she froze, eyes growing wide. The feeling spreading throughout her chest multiplied and grew to a nearly crippling intensity so quickly it stole her breath away. She recognized it now. This feeling… she was very familiar with it. But she hadn't felt it in over 20 years… not since she'd entered this dimension through the gate.

She stood abruptly, the project slipping from her lap. The crochet hook clattered across the floor unnoticed. She raised a hand to her mouth as the feeling continued to intensify. Horror crashed over her in a wave. This couldn't be happening… but there was no denying the feeling inside her. She felt her energy draining away as a heavy, throbbing pain invaded her chest. It was like someone was carving out her insides with a dull scalpel. Where was this coming from? It wasn't supposed to work this way…

She turned her head towards the window and caught a glimpse of a figure standing in the front yard. Her heart froze in her chest and time seemed to slow. It was like she'd somehow crashed into a horrible dream. The feeling of dread inside her fixated on that figure causing her heart race and her breathing to grow fast and shallow. She had to get away from the creature in the yard. She needed to flee. But instead she felt her legs begin walking forward, carrying her out of the living room and towards the front door. She felt strangely disconnected from her body as she gripped the door handle and pulled it open. The door slipped shut behind her as she stepped out into the brisk evening breeze. Her heart stuttered unevenly as it was gripped in an unrelenting, painful grasp, like an invisible hand crushing the life out of it. A gasp escaped her lips as her gaze moved across the yard to the creature standing there.

"You," she whispered. She'd never seen the girl in her life, but that didn't matter. She didn't have to see the creature to recognize it. She knew it by feeling alone. It was strange. She'd never bothered to put a face to the unseen enemy that had dogged her relentlessly in her teens and had stripped her mother away from her. The girl that stood before her was no taller than herself but she was alarmingly thin. Black bandages covered her skinny arms and legs and a simple, V-necked dress hugged her figure, falling just below her knees with a slit up to her waist. The dark material glinted with a shade of deep blue in the setting sun. Her slate grey hair hung unevenly to her shoulders, remaining almost entirely limp despite the gusting wind. Against the darkness of her dress her skin looked unhealthily pale. But the most striking and deeply disturbing feature the girl possessed were her eyes. They were entirely black, lacking any white or iris, like dark holes in her face. A black line ran down from each of them over her cheeks to her chin, like a stream of black tears.

"What are you?" Elsie's voice was barely audible. She wasn't even sure why she was bothering to ask. She already knew…

"Despair," the girl's voice was hollow, devoid of all emotion. She didn't need to raise her voice above the wind. The empty sound of it seemed to cut through all other sounds, drowning them out. The single word seemed to ring in Elsie's ears. Staring into the creature's black gaze she felt her soul beginning to wither and die. A feeling of utter pointlessness and defeat swept over her. What was the point in staying alive? Breathing seemed more trouble than it was worth. A number of ideas tumbled into her mind. There were plenty of well sharpened knives in the kitchen or tools in the shop. Although walking in front of a vehicle in town would be faster... Of course that would involve walking to town and encountering other people who would likely attempt to interfere. She could jump from the roof of the shop, but that likely wouldn't be high enough to do the job properly. Then again, there was also rat poison under the sink…

The thoughts were cool and calculating. There was no real emotion behind them, but they were deadly serious. An alarm bell chimed in the back of her mind. This was absurd. She needed to get a grip. A feeling of anger rose up past the hopelessness. How _dare_ this come back after so many years! She refused to accept it. There were far too many people she needed to live for.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, eyes narrowing at the frail looking girl.

"We didn't come for you," the sound of the girl's hollow voice only intensified the crushing pain which was busy making its home in Elsie's chest. She grimaced, arms wrapping around herself as she fought to think past the pain. She was so tired. She just needed to lie down… Suddenly she gasped, glancing down at the curve over her stomach which her arms were resting around. The baby… Even in her old world it wasn't healthy for the baby if the mother had episodes while pregnant. This was clearly different from an episode, but considering the severity of the exposure she doubted that mattered much. She had to get away from this thing… Its words echoed through her mind and she blinked, finally processing them. Her eyes widened.

"Then who…?" the answer flooded into her mind before the creature even responded and she felt her already pained heart seize up in her chest, "No," she whispered, horrified. This couldn't be happening. She'd already lost her mother to this twisted creature. Now it was coming after…? Her gaze filled with an unfettered fury that nearly rivaled her husband's.

"You stay away from my children you _monster!_" she lunged towards the creature, a murderous expression on her face. Adele was her daughter as much as her own child was. There was no doubt in her mind as to who had stolen her away now. She had thought the experience Elmina had described with her red haired assailant had sounded oddly familiar. Now she knew why. If depression had manifested itself in a human form and was calling itself Despair, then she saw no reason why mania couldn't do the same thing. She didn't understand how this could be happening, but it seemed her disorder had come back to haunt her in a very bizarre and unexpected way. Had Dante somehow dragged this out? It didn't seem likely she would even know about the disorder the gate had stripped away to begin with. If she had drawn these creatures out then it was likely some sort of fluke or accident. Elsie had never imagined she'd have to face this disease again. Except it appeared it wasn't actually her it was after…

Before she could lay a finger on the pale girl in front of her something grasped hold of her ankles and sent her sprawling. She managed to catch herself on her arms in the cool grass, glancing back in alarm to see what had tripped her. Black, tentacle-like claws had wrapped around her lower calves, seeming to have erupted from the ground. In a way they bore a resemblance to the shadows she vaguely remembered Pride possessing in a different version of the world she was currently living in. But these lacked teeth or eyes, and had an almost translucent nature to their swirly blackness. It felt like they were seeping into her skin, filling her with an icy chill. She glanced back at the girl before her, who was regarding her with an unnerving, apathetic gaze.

"What do you want with them?" Elsie demanded, voice hoarse as she felt more of her strength draining away as the tentacles began slowly climbing up her body.

"Them? The only one we need is your blood relation. The blonde is merely for leverage. We have no use for her save for her attachment to your daughter. And as disappointing as it is that you slipped through our grasp for so many years, you are no longer of any use to us," its voice remained flatly emotionless as the tentacles continued moving up their prisoner's body. Elsie let out a pained breath, eyes trying to slip shut as exhaustion seemed to smother her. She was going to die. This thing was actually going to kill her. That shouldn't be possible. Emotions weren't lethal in and of themselves! Clearly things were different in this dimension.

Then the tentacles froze. Elsie blinked, surprised to feel some of the exhaustion lift from her.

"You're pregnant," there was the first hint of emotion she had heard so far in the girl's voice. She sounded almost surprised. Then the tentacles disappeared completely, freeing Elsie from their icy embrace.

"What does that have to do with anything…?" she gasped, struggling to keep from collapsing on her face in the grass. She hadn't felt this hellishly awful in a very long time. It had always amazed her that her body didn't just up and die on her from the sheer intensity of the discomfort it experienced during episodes.

"If your first child proves incapable of handling our presence then your second child provides a valuable fallback plan. On top of which…I suspect you'll be much more pliable after it's born," there was a hint of satisfaction in its expression. Elsie's eyes widened.

"You have got to be kidding me," her tone was incredulous. Was it seriously referring to post-partum depression? Her hands clenched into fists in the grass. No way would she let this thing take any of her children! She would do anything to spare them from that, even if it meant taking back her disorder again.

"Take me," she whispered, "Don't use them,"

"We need a much younger host for our purposes. Don't presume to know what we're after. We have no desire to be trapped in your body again," the girl's tone was cold. Elsie stared up at her, a feeling of desperation growing within her. She didn't have a clue how to fight her disorder like this. It had been challenging enough when it was inside of her, but now…?

"I've wasted enough time here," its tone was crisp. Abruptly it reached a hand towards her. Elsie pulled back with a gasp but was much too slow. As soon as the tips of its fingers made contact with her forehead the world around her turned grey and began to grow hazy.

"No…stop…" she whispered. She couldn't let this happen… but the world around her dissolved into blackness and she lost consciousness.

* * *

Wrath stared at his niece resignedly. The dark haired girl's expression was decidedly not pleased as she sat back on the couch with her arms crossed. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. They both needed to get some sleep. Although since Elmina had already had a full night of sleep the night before, she was doing better than he was.

"He just wants to protect you, you know," he told her, wanting to somehow lessen the tension still in the atmosphere.

"And I want to protect Adele. How do you think dad would feel if someone locked him up and refused to let him search for mom if she got kidnapped?" she demanded sharply, glaring flatly at him. Wrath sighed.

"Look. We both need to get some rest. But I can't sleep if you're going to try to run off and look for Adele as soon as I close my eyes," his expression was as flat as hers. Her expression softened to one of desperate disappointment. "Promise me you won't go after her," he demanded. Elmina swallowed, looking thoroughly discouraged.

"I promise," she muttered. Wrath nodded feeling slightly relieved. Elmina wasn't one to break her promises, regardless of how upset she was.

"You should try to get some rest as well," he advised, "We're going to need it," he stared at her until she acknowledged him with a nod. "I can sleep on the couch if you want to get some sleep now," he offered. She shook her head.

"No, it's alright, you can have the bed. I'm not sleepy right now. Besides, I fit a lot better on here than you would," she pointed out. Wrath eyed her defeated expression for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. Try to get some sleep at some point though," he said, turning and heading down the hall towards the bedroom.

Elmina watched him disappear around the corner and heard him close the bedroom door. She let out a heavy sigh resting her face in her hands for a moment. This was awful. She desperately wanted to help her friend somehow. Being forced to wait here like this was the ultimate torture. And yet, she didn't have a clue where to even begin looking for her. None of them did, which meant they'd have to wait around until the kidnappers decided to make contact with them again. She shook her head in frustration. Who knew how long that could be? And after what her dad had said she was terrified by the possibility of them hurting her just for the fun of it. Though she didn't know the details of her dad's past, she trusted his judgement. If he really had been one of those creatures at one time then he would know better than anyone else what they were likely to do. She blinked, frowning slightly. She'd never put a huge amount of thought into what her parents' pasts had really been like. If her dad had really been some sort of monster, which was rather difficult for her to imagine, how on earth had he met her mom and become what he was today? She would have to pester them for a more detailed explanation of things at some point when all of this was past.

She rose to her feet and paced up and down the room for a moment, weaving her fingers into her hair as she battled with frustration and anxiety. She needed to burn some of this energy off. If she stayed cooped up in this room she'd go crazy. She'd promised not to go after Adele, and she had no intention of breaking that promise, but at the moment she really needed to go for a walk to clear her head. The most ideal thing would be being able to find a place to train or spar with someone, but at that moment it didn't seem likely she'd be able to do that. A walk would suffice. Or maybe a jog… She glanced at the door to the hotel room, and then glanced down the hallway at the closed door to the bedroom. Wrath had looked pretty tired. And he wasn't expecting her to try and run off. Not that that was what she was doing…no, she was just getting some exercise... She turned and crept quietly over to the door leading out of the room. With a final glance behind her she carefully pulled the door open just far enough for her to slip though and let it shut silently behind her.

It didn't take long for her to get out of the hotel and navigate away from the crowded street outside. She needed a place where she could open up her stride and _run_ without risking crashing into anyone. She glanced down an alley and smiled grimly. This would do fine. It was well kept, considering it was in a well-used spot of town. And with the sun just slipping below the horizon now there would still be light for at least another hour. If the alleys here were anything like they were in Dublith they would be connected in such a way that she could zip through them and circle around to wind up coming out near the hotel once more. It wouldn't do to be out too long and have Wrath wake up and wonder where she'd gotten to. If she ran into anyone that tried to harass her… well… they'd be in for an unpleasant surprise. She wasn't in a patient mood at the moment.

She took off down the alley, slowly allowing herself to gain speed until she was at a full out sprint. Dodging trash bins and darting around corners at a break neck speed, she navigated easily through the alleys. There didn't seem to be many people out an about in the narrow streets behind the various businesses in this part of the city. Not at this time of day in any case. It was likely a well policed area. She ran and ran until her legs began to ache and her breathing was labored. The longer she went the more she was able to focus entirely on keeping herself in motion and navigating the city. She didn't want to think. She'd never felt so scared or helpless, and she didn't have a clue what to do. There was no way to know where those creatures had taken Adele or why they'd taken her for that matter. Realistically her dad and the others going out to search was rather pointless. She knew her dad wanted to keep her at the hotel to keep her safe, but the kidnappers had just left her lying in the grass after snatching Adele. Obviously she wasn't the one they were after. Well…the red haired guy's comment about having fun with her had been weird. She didn't quite know what to make of it, so she'd shoved it aside and ignored it.

She flew around another sharp turn and was forced to come to a screeching halt as she came face to face with someone standing in the middle of the road. She staggered and just barely managed to retain her balance without crashing into them.

"Well _someone_ is sure in a hurry," an alarmingly familiar voice drawled. She gasped, eyes widening as she staggered back several steps. Shock flooded through her mind. She'd never expected to run into this guy like this. Hell, she hadn't even been specifically looking for him! It was the creature from earlier with the red hair and eyes, and the odd outfit. He was standing casually in the narrow alleyway, arms crossed as if he'd been waiting for her. It took several breaths for her to recover from the surprise, but when she did anger exploded through her like fire. She wasn't sure if she was seeing red or if it was just the crimson aura the guy seemed to give off. Either way she was pissed.

"_Where is she?!_" She snarled, lunging towards him hell bent on beating the answer out of him. His expression was unconcerned as he extended an arm towards her, reaching out with a black nailed finger to touch her forehead as she threw herself at him recklessly. Instantly she froze, eyes widening in shock as the fire of her anger was utterly overwhelmed by a blazing inferno of energy, ripping through her veins with an intensity that left her paralyzed. He withdrew his hand but she remained stalk still, effectively stunned by the painful sensation flooding her senses.

"I can't play with you properly yet," his tone bordered on sullen, slit pupil gaze slightly pouty. She swallowed hard as the fiery energy began to recede, allowing her to gather her scattered thoughts.

"What do you want?" she demanded hoarsely. His lips curled in a smirk.

"Hmm, good question. Honestly, it changes on a regular basis. Although at the moment I would _love_ to have some fun with you," his tone and the wicked glint in his eye left her wondering rather uncomfortably what he meant by that statement. Why did he keep making that comment? "Unfortunately, as I said, I can't," he added ruefully.

"Then why are you here?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

"My partner sent me to deliver a message," his expression grew ever so slightly more serious, adding an unnerving intensity to his already nerve-wracking gaze, "If you want to see your friend again then you need to come find her yourself. _Alone_," his eyes narrowed on the last word. Alarm flickered across Elmina's expression.

"Why?!" she demanded heatedly, nails biting into her palms as her hands clenched into fists.

"Well you won't be able to find us if you bring anyone else with you," he replied blandly. She clenched her teeth in frustration.

"Why not?" her tone was stiff. The red haired creature rolled his eyes.

"Because we won't let you, Mouse," he retorted, "Involving other people is a waste of our time; in my partner's opinion anyway. Personally I think it would be rather fun," he sounded almost disappointed. Elmina stared at him, a little taken off guard by the random nickname.

"Why are you doing this?!" her tone was aggravated. His red eyes flashed and an alarming grin spread across his features.

"Oh we have our reasons. But my partner is always complaining I talk too much, so I probably shouldn't say," he replied. His expression made her distinctly uncomfortable. The pointed teeth weren't at all reassuring.

"Who is your partner?" she demanded, forcing herself to stand her ground rather than backing away from the unnerving creature. The last thing she wanted to show was that he intimidated her.

"You'll meet her when you come to get your friend," he replied simply. Elmina frowned.

"Where are you keeping her?" she asked.

"Are you familiar with the Old District of Central?" he countered her question with one of his own. The dark haired girl blinked.

"Not really…" her tone was uncertain. She'd never spent much time in Central and she'd rarely even entered the Old District.

"Alright, take this," he tossed something at her and she jumped in surprise, managing to catch it instinctively. She blinked, staring down at what appeared to be a folded up map. She hadn't even noticed he was holding it in his other hand… Not a good sign. He could have been holding a weapon which she had completely overlooked. She'd let her emotions distract her from the basic awareness necessary for a fight. She couldn't afford to be so careless! "Your friend's location is marked on there. It's underground below an old church. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding it," he told her unconcernedly.

"You aren't going to lead me there yourself?" she demanded warily. He shook his head.

"I have something I need to attend to. I'll meet you there. Just head underground and I'll find you," he replied, "And if you bring anyone with you, you won't be seeing your friend again anytime soon," his gaze was penetrating, driving home the seriousness of his statement. He seemed to be waiting for some sort of response from her so she reluctantly nodded. "Good," his expression cleared and his tone became cheerful, "I'll see you in a little while. Don't keep me waiting," he advised. The next thing she knew he'd sprung easily up onto the roof of the building next to her and disappeared down the other side. She stared after him, eyes wide. No human could make a jump like that from standing still… Could a homunculus do that? She didn't really know that much about the creatures her father had mentioned. She probably should have demanded a more thorough explanation of their abilities.

She glanced down at the map in her hand. It appeared to be just a normal map of the city. She unfolded it carefully and immediately spotted a red X drawn over one area of the map. It was near the middle of the Old District. He'd said it was underground… was it the Underground City? A frown creased her brow. It would take her some time to get there. It would likely be getting dark by that point. And who knew when Wrath would wake up? But… did she have any choice here? Obviously if she followed that creature's directions they wouldn't just hand Adele over to her. They were after something. But if she didn't go right now she'd miss this opportunity, and clearly trying to bring help along wasn't going to work. She ground her teeth in frustration and crushed the edges of the map slightly as her hands tightened on it. This was so _stupid!_ She was about to play right into their hands and right at that moment, with anxiety and adrenalin eating at her, she couldn't think of any way around it. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Well there was no helping it. She might as well get moving.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Mina. You're an idiot. Granted, being in the presence of that red haired creep does tend to affect one's better judgement. I would know. **

**I'm excited to get the next chapter uploaded! The story finally starts moving somewhere from here on out. Although…..I'd be a little more excited if I knew if anyone was actually enjoying the story…I'm really hoping you're all just too busy or too shy to comment. It would be terribly disappointing if I wrote all of this only for everyone to find it utterly boring. I'm getting pretty close to finishing it, but the last bit is proving very tricky to write and I'm stuck for the time-being. It's 20 chapters long so far and I suspect it'll finish up somewhere between 25 and 30. I'll likely start uploading this faster once I finally finish the story. Although, I spose that won't really matter much to people if they aren't enjoying the story thus far anyway… :/**

**In any case, you'll have to wait on this little cliff hanger for a few days. I know my beta readers are waiting with bated breath for me to finally finish writing chapter 21, so I'm hoping by the time you get there you'll all be just as engrossed in the story as they are. *sweatdrop***


	7. Chapter 6 - The Underground City

**Chapter 6 – The Underground City**

An hour later the sun had sunk below the horizon. Twilight had plunged the city into hazy shadows. Elmina stood at the entrance of an old abandoned church. There was no mistaking it. This was the place. Her breath came quick and shallow as she began to creep down the center aisle. In the low light levels she could just make out the outlines of the pews, and at the end of the isle what appeared to be a very large altar. At the base of the altar was a dark opening, just tall enough for someone her height to walk through. It was as if someone had forcibly created an entryway. She swallowed hard. Her dad was going to _kill_ her if she survived this. But no way in hell would she be going back empty handed. Adele's terrified cry from the night of the kidnapping echoed through her mind, driving her forward more swiftly. She had to get her back, whatever it took. She reached the entryway and peered into it uneasily, vaguely making out the shape of steps disappearing down into total darkness. Well…he had said they were keeping her underground... She drew in a deep breath before plunging into the blackness.

It was a slow process making her way down the stairs by feel alone. At least the walls were close enough on either side of her that she was able to brace her hands against them for balance. The darkness seemed to go on for an eternity. She was utterly blind. She felt panic wanting to rise up inside of her but she crushed it down forcefully. This was just like the training she'd done against Sara. Her vision had been just as useless when going up against an alchemist who specialized in light related alchemy. Granted, total blackness wasn't the same thing as being blindfolded. But she still had the skills necessary to do this. All she needed to do was calm down and focus. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating on maintaining a steady rhythm with the breaths that followed. In combat, when lacking the ability to see, she'd learned to rely entirely on her other senses. The most critical of the bunch was hearing. And hearing was much easier when she wasn't hyperventilating. Theoretically if someone tried to attack her she'd hear them coming before they managed to get close; although she wasn't sure if that rule applied against something inhuman. For all she knew these people could ambush her by morphing through the wall. It wasn't a reassuring thought.

Eventually she noticed a faint light in the distance. She blinked repeatedly, pressing forward slightly faster. As she drew closer she found the light was emanating from a torch holder in the wall farther down the stairs. She squinted against the brightness, feeling a thrill of unease. If there were torches lit then someone was definitely waiting for her. The steps continued for some distance yet, although from that point on there were evenly spaced torches lighting the way. She was able to proceed much quicker with her vision restored. Eventually she came to a doorway, whereupon the steps appeared to continue down but within a much more open area. She emerged from the opening and a gasp escaped her lips. She came to a halt, awestruck by the sight before her.

She was standing in an enormous cavern, so large that the other end was hidden from her sight in the gloom. Below her an entire city stretched out, filling the seemingly endless space. The cavern was lit dimly by a cool, white light. She couldn't tell where it was emanating from, but considering how large a space it was lighting it had to be some form of alchemy. Still, even Sara with her specialty in light alchemy would have her work cut out for her lighting a space this size. Were these creatures able to use alchemy? Or was it just a leftover transmutation from another alchemist such as Dante? She swallowed nervously. She wasn't quite sure where to go from here. But that guy had said for her to head underground and that he'd find her when she got there. She might as well head the rest of the way down and wait for him. Taking a deep breath she continued down the steps.

A while later she came to a halt. She'd lost track of how long she'd been wandering through the city… half an hour maybe? It was a long enough period of time that she was beginning to wonder if the red haired creep had just sent her off on a wild goose chase for kicks. She was also coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that she was lost. It had looked like a twisted warren of streets from the view up on the ledge, and now that she was walking amidst the masses of buildings she couldn't even see the spot where she'd entered the cavern in the first place. She usually had a fairly decent sense of direction, but with the alchemic lighting coming from no apparent source, and the maze of streets that weren't constructed in any way her brain could make sense of, her internal compass had been thrown completely off kilter. A feeling of overwhelming frustration washed over her and she let out a low growl, striking the wall next to her with the side of her fist. The old crumbling siding shattered where her fist struck, pieces of it raining down onto the cobblestones at her feet. This was so unbelievably stupid. She'd gone and broken her promise about not trying to find Adele, and now she was just wandering aimlessly in circles.

"Where are you, you bastard?!" She yelled, having lost all patience with the entire situation.

"Who, me?" The unexpected voice behind her was so close she could feel his breath tickling the back of her neck. With a yelp she spun around, arms coming up automatically in a defensive guard. He smirked, red eyes dancing with amusement.

"Where have you been?" She demanded, scrambling to recompose herself. How the hell had he gotten so close behind her without her noticing?

"My partner took somewhat longer to complete her mission than I was expecting. I appreciate you waiting around for me," the grin which spread across his lips was unsettling.

"Take me to Adele!" She snapped, trying to mask her unease with hostility. If the widening of his grin was any indication he wasn't fooled.

"Follow me," he strolled past her down the road. She turned to stare after him for a moment. The way his violently red hair fluttered about his lithe form in a non-existent breeze was a little odd. Then again, was there anything about him that _wasn't_ odd? Why on earth was she trusting this guy? Well, maybe trusting wasn't really the right word... Why was she going along with this? Her eyes narrowed at the back of his head. Well…the bastard had Adele. She really didn't have much choice but to listen to him.

She followed after him reluctantly. He led her through the city without any hesitation. Clearly he knew where he was going. She stared at him, her father's words about homunculi echoing through her mind. Was this guy really some sort of sadistic monster? If his bizarre power that he'd used on her twice now was any indication then it was a strong possibility.

"If you keep scowling like that it'll give you wrinkles," he commented casually. Elmina tripped and just about went sprawling. He wasn't even looking at her! How could he tell what her expression was?! He glanced back at her with a superior smirk. "I can feel your anger," he sounded oddly pleased by this fact. She came to a halt, staring at him blankly. He paused, staring at her over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you?" she demanded, tone slightly disturbed. He turned to face her fully, resting a hand on his hip. He appeared amused, but there was something flickering in his eyes that only increased her unease. This guy just couldn't be stable. What would he be like if he snapped? She really didn't want to find out…

"Oh, that's right…it's your mother who knows me personally... I guess you and I haven't been officially introduced yet. Of course, I already know you who are. My name is Mania. It's a pleasure to meet you Elmina," the broad grin which spread across his face and the way his eyes lit up actually caused her to take a half step backwards. He looked almost like he wanted to _devour _her or something…

"How do you know my mother?" she asked a little shakily.

"You should ask her about it sometime," he replied, crazed grin shifting to an amused smirk. Elmina stared at him oddly. What the hell was he talking about? Her mother hadn't mentioned recognizing this guy when she'd described him to her… Well, she'd just have to ask her next time she saw her. She frowned and said the first thing that rose to her lips.

"Mania is a weird name," she told him frankly. Then she blinked. Why had she blurted that out? The red haired creature actually snorted.

"So are the names Envy and Wrath," he retorted, turning back towards the direction he'd been going, "Come on. Your friend is waiting,"

* * *

Edward Elric sat in a chair beside the bed of his comatose brother with his head in his hands. His eldest daughter rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"We'll get her back dad," she told him firmly. The blonde man rubbed his face before resting his hands on his legs. The last week had clearly taken its toll on the former state alchemist.

"I never should have let Al go to the Underground City. I should have locked him up if I had to," his tone was broken.

"Beating yourself up over the past is a waste of energy. It won't change anything. Right now we need to move forward with the resources and information we currently possess," Envy said. The green haired man was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Ed smirked bitterly.

"Keep moving forward. I'd say the two of us have had more than enough experience with that," he fixed his half-brother with a tired look. Envy smiled humorlessly. "Dammit all," Ed muttered, "I thought we were done having to deal with stuff like this."

"People like us don't get to live in peace for the rest of our lives like normal people. Besides, some of us don't deserve it anyway," the former homunculus stated flatly, staring at the wall across from him with a distant expression. Ed shook his head. At that moment there was a knock on the door, causing the three of them to glance up. The door opened to reveal a nurse standing there. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

"I'm supposed to tell whoever happens to be visiting this man that there's a phone call for you. Someone named Elsie. She says it's urgent," the nurse told them. Envy's eyes widened.

"She called the hospital?" Sara sounded startled.

"Something serious must have happened," Ed's tone was concerned, a frown creasing his brow. Envy strode forward.

"I'll take it," he told the nurse crisply. She nodded.

"Right this way," the woman turned and led him down the hall till they reached the reception desk. She handed the phone to him and he pressed it to his ear.

"What happened?" he demanded sharply.

"Where is Mina?" Elsie's voice sounded unusually anxious on the other end of the line. Envy frowned, taken off guard.

"What?"

"Where is she?" her tone was more urgent than before.

"I left her back at the hotel with Wrath. Why?" he demanded guardedly. He heard his wife let out a shaky breath.

"One of the creatures showed up here. I know them—"

"What?!" his tone was alarmed as he cut her off.

"Look, it's too complicated to explain over the phone. I'm coming there on the first train tomorrow morning. I can't say with absolute certainty, but I don't think we're dealing with homunculi here,"

"Then what are they?" Envy's tone was almost bewildered.

"That doesn't matter right now. I'll explain what I know when I get there. But they're after Mina. She's their real target. They're just using Adele to get to her," Elsie's words were rushed in her urgency. Envy's eyes widened. There was silence for a moment. Finally he found his voice.

"I need to go," he told her, tone sharp with concern. He let the phone clatter to the counter as he turned and raced for the front doors of the hospital. The nurse jumped in surprise, staring after him with a shocked expression. Several moments passed before Sara exited the room farther down the hall and made her way towards the reception desk.

"Where did he go?" she asked the nurse, tone puzzled. The woman shook her head in bewilderment.

"I don't know. He just took off like the devil himself was after him,"

Envy burst through the door of the hotel room, panting slightly from the run from the hospital.

"Mina?" he called sharply. There was silence for a moment before the bedroom door at the end of the hall opened. Wrath stood there appearing as if he'd just woken up. "Where is Mina?" Envy demanded. Wrath blinked, clearly startled.

"She's not here?" he walked out into the sitting room, glancing around in surprise, "She promised she wouldn't try to go searching for Adele," his tone was disbelieving.

"Dammit!" Envy raked his jagged bangs back from his face in frustration, "We need to go find her. She's the one they're after. I don't have time to explain," he told the dark haired man briskly. Wrath nodded.

"Any idea where she might have gone?" he asked. Envy frowned. He suspected if they'd made contact with her they would likely take her to the Underground City. It was the most secluded part of Central City. It was likely they were keeping Adele there as well. But trying to find the two of them there would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. There was no way to know where exactly they would be in the ancient city. What were the odds that the creatures would pick Dante's old hideout as the place to work out of? It seemed a little too obvious to be likely. Then again, there was only one way to find out.

"The Underground City. Let's go," Envy turned back towards the door. Wrath didn't question him. He followed after the green haired man.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Uh-oh. What's Mina in for? *cue dramatic music* You shall find out next chapter. Sorry this one was so pathetically short *sweatdrop* I think it's the shortest chapter in the whole story. Thankfully the next one is twice as long as this one. I had way too much fun writing it…just saying… **


	8. Chapter 7 - Mania

**Chapter 7 - Mania**

Elmina followed after Mania as they strolled down a narrow hallway. The building he had led her to was surprisingly large, with numerous floors and rooms. There were only torches in the halls and stairwells they were walking through. The other rooms and halls they passed were shrouded in darkness. They descended another flight of stairs and came to the end of the hall. When they emerged into the next room Elmina came to a sudden halt. The sight before her was breathtaking. They were standing at the end of an enormous ballroom. Spectators' boxes lined the walls, gold carvings glittering despite the shadows clinging to the edges of the room. The only light source came from the giant chandelier in the center of the high ceiling. It was partly lit, the dusty pieces of cut crystal which decorated it sparkling faintly. But it wasn't the unexpected grandeur that had frozen her on the spot. It was the girl seated on the floor in the middle of the large room. Her golden curls glinted in the candle light.

"_Adele!_" Elmina yelped, dashing forward towards her. Her escort made no move to stop her. She was across the room in seconds, falling to her knees in front of her friend. "Adele, are you ok? What's wrong?" There was a desperation in her tone as she gripped the blonde girl's shoulders. Something was definitely off about her. Adele's expression was blank. Her blue eyes were half lidded and there was an emptiness in her gaze which chilled Elmina to the core. She didn't even seem to be aware of the dark haired girl's presence. "Adele," she whispered, a feeling of dread gripping her. Upon receiving still no response a wave of frustration washed over her. She shot to her feet and whirled back to face the red haired man still standing at the entrance to the room.

"What did you do to her?!" She demanded, rage simmering beneath her threatening expression. Mania raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I didn't do anything. Ask Despair," he told her frankly.

"Who…?" She trailed off as she felt a presence behind her that made her heart sink past her knees. She turned and saw the figure of a frail looking girl standing several paces away. Elmina barely noticed the blue dress or the dark bandages which covered her arms and legs. Her gaze was fixed on the girl's eyes. They were like black holes in her pale face, black tears staining her cheeks. The longer she stared at her the harder it got to breathe. It was like someone was crushing her chest

"Nothing I've done to her cannot be undone," the girl's voice caused Elmina's heart to clench painfully, the utter deadness of it seeming to seep into her bones. "Your friend's fate rests entirely in your hands. Accept us and I will return her to her former state."

"I don't know what you mean," Elmina's voice was hoarse from the effort of pulling air into her lungs to form words.

"Just let us do what we want with you without resisting and we'll let your friend go," she jumped slightly to hear Mania's voice suddenly so close to her. He'd come to stand next to her, just a short distance away. She glanced at him and felt the deadness in her chest flutter away to be replaced by extreme unease. His expression was a little frightening. She asked the first question that rose to her lips.

"Are you people homunculi?" her tone was shaky. She was taken off guard when Mania began to laugh. The slightly hysterical nature of it sent a shiver through her. When he finally recovered he grinned amusedly.

"Ha! Homunculi wish that they were as cool as us," his tone was smug. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Despair shoot him a look that almost seemed a little wilted.

"Ignore him. He's an idiot," the girl's apathetic voice held the faintest note of resignation. Mania rolled his eyes.

"You have no sense of humor," he muttered.

"What are you then?" Elmina demanded uncertainly.

"Agree to our terms and you'll find out," he smirked knowingly at her. She gulped. Did she have any choice? She had to save Adele, even if it meant dying. It was her fault her friend was in this condition. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she failed to save her now.

"What do I have to do?" she whispered.

"Just let us in. Don't try to resist," Despair's voice was flat.

"So is that a yes?" Mania's tone was lower than before, almost a purr. She shivered again, her skin seeming to prickle under his unnervingly intense gaze.

"You promise you'll let her go?" She forced her voice to remain even despite how rapidly her heart was beginning to pound.

"Why wouldn't we?" He demanded almost impatiently, "_She's_ not the one we want," he stepped closer to her and she flinched slightly. She had to promise not to resist, huh? That went against every instinct she possessed. But they weren't really giving her much of a choice here. She swallowed hard.

"Alright," she spoke the word that would seal her fate. Mania's lips twisted into the same broad grin as they had earlier, the sharp looking teeth and the sudden hunger filling his gaze causing her heart to stutter in alarm. A voice in the back of her mind screamed for her to run, but she couldn't move a muscle. She was as paralyzed under his gaze as she'd been the first time she'd laid eyes on him. The next words out of his mouth brought her heart to a standstill, thoughts scattering in panic at the possible implications.

"I get her first," he said, barely sparing a glance at his partner before the full intensity of his gaze returned to Elmina. The anticipation in his tone combined with the hunger radiating from his expression genuinely scared her. What was he after?

He closed the distance between them a single stride. His proximity alone caused every nerve ending in her body to tingle in a way that was much too intense to be pleasant. He reached out, hands brushing past her cheeks to weave his fingers into her hair. She almost let out a shriek. His touch burned to such a painful intensity that she wondered if her skin would start to sizzle and blister. He brought his face close to hers and she wanted to recoil. She wasn't at all sure of his intentions, but if he kissed her she was certain it would be an agonizingly painful experience. Instead however, his forehead connected firmly with hers.

She let out a gasp, eyes widening as sensations exploded through her body. The painful fire burning through her veins shifted, becoming an exhilarating rush of energy and spreading a startling hypersensitivity across her skin. She squirmed slightly from the feeling of air tickling against her arms and neck, while the feeling of his hands in her hair and his forehead against hers made her begin to tremble. A fountain of energy sprang up in her core, bringing with it a rush of giddy euphoria. She was barely aware that a grin had spread across her face. Her thoughts had become so swift and jumbled that it was like she was thinking of nothing at all because she could barely hold on to each one for more than a second before it was replaced by another. There was a terrified panic flooding her, but at the same time she was utterly thrilled. She'd never felt so amazing. She knew with an absolute certainty that she was completely invincible, far surpassing anyone else in ability or strength. There was a solid conviction in her mind that she would be able to pull off anything she tried. Hell, if she leapt off the ground she'd be able to fly. There wasn't the slightest doubt in her mind. She blinked repeatedly as the room around them seemed to glow. Everything was so damn beautiful! How had she never noticed this before? It only added to the uncontrollable joy radiating from the core of her being.

Her gaze refocused on the creature who called himself Mania. His forehead remained resting against hers, so close that their noses were brushing lightly. His eyes were closed and there was a soft smile playing across his lips. It was the most peaceful expression she'd seen on his face since she'd met him. He let out a contented sigh, eyes opening half way.

"Delicious. You're as appetizing as your mother used to be," he murmured. The words went in one ear and out the other. She didn't even notice how very odd his statement sounded. A moment later his hands slipped out of her hair and he pulled away. But the wildly thrilling euphoria remained behind, coursing through her veins in a way that was somehow both painful and enjoyable at the same time. "Well then," he regarded her with a smirk, "Why don't we go have some fun?" he sounded rather eager. Her only response was her grin widening. Did he even need to ask such a question? A gleeful laugh escaped her lips as she turned and bolted for the door.

* * *

Envy and Wrath walked briskly down one of the main streets of the Underground City. They knew the place inside and out. They would begin their search by checking the places that would be probable hideouts, and then they'd methodically expand the search to the rest of the city. That was the plan anyway; except they hadn't accounted for the possibility that Elmina would actually come to them.

Envy froze in surprise as a figure strolled round the corner ahead of them.

"Mina?" Wrath's tone was startled. The dark haired girl was walking towards them casually, the grin on her face seeming rather odd given the circumstances.

"What are you doing here?" Envy demanded, anger seeping into his tone.

"Hello daddy," her tone was mischievous, "Did I worry you? Sorry about that," she sounded more taunting than apologetic. "By the way, I found Adele. She's in the giant ballroom," she added as an afterthought, not appearing overly concerned by this detail. Envy's mind reeled with momentary shock. Elmina hadn't referred to him as 'daddy' in _years_. He took in her expression with a feeling of extreme unease.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, not liking the uncharacteristic wildness in her gaze. Her grin broadened alarmingly, eyes flashing with an amusement that neither of the men could comprehend. What was funny about this situation? Envy was struck by how much she looked exactly like he'd used to look. He wasn't at all happy to see that look on his daughter's face.

"What's wrong? Aren't you proud of me for finding her?" she demanded, her expression abruptly slipping into a pout. Then suddenly she lunged at him. Taken off guard by the unexpected assault, he barely managed to block her fist hurtling towards his face. He sprang away from the kick that immediately followed and she pursued him, her blows raining down in rapid succession. He dodged around her and was forced to block several more punches before she managed to dart sideways and land a kick on his momentarily exposed side. He staggered slightly, drawing in a sharp breath. Her attacks carried more force than he was used to her dealing out. She wasn't holding back like they usually did in a sparring match. She was coming at him with the full intent to harm.

Wrath took her distraction with the green haired man as an opportunity to grab her from behind in an attempt to restrain her. She growled in outrage and slammed the back of her head against his windpipe with enough force to make him choke, forcing him to let go of her as he stumbled back.

"You guys are slow," she taunted before launching herself at her father once more.

"Mina, why are you doing this?" Envy demanded, dodging another punch and knocking aside a kick. Despite the ferocity of her attacks, her movements were careless and frequently left her open to a counterattack. He'd trained her better than that… Still, he didn't want to reciprocate with an attack of his own and engage her in an actual fight. Returning her attacks would do nothing to help the situation. She wasn't acting like herself at all. It was very likely the creatures had made contact with her and done something to cause this change in character. Perhaps she was even being controlled by one of them. Then a thought occurred to him that gave him pause. What if this wasn't even his daughter? Did one of the kidnappers possess the same shapeshifting ability which he'd once possessed? She was certainly behaving oddly…

"Oh _come on!_ What's the matter with you? You never let me walk all over you like this. Or am I just that much better than you now?" her tone was smug as she abruptly changed tactics, darting under his guard and shoving him roughly on the chest. He flipped backwards with a handspring to avoid being knocked off his feet. He grimaced as his body protested the unusually vigorous movement. He felt a momentary prick of wistfulness as he recalled the ease with which he'd been able to fight in his homunculus body. Having a body that aged was a bit of a nuisance. He saw Wrath make a move to grab her once more but she darted away out of his reach. A slightly hysterical giggle escaped her lips.

"Man, you guys have gotten so much worse since the last time we sparred!" She sounded thoroughly amused. Envy frowned. As odd as she was behaving, he got the feeling that this was really her. Her attacks came in a manner he was familiar with, despite her unusual recklessness.

"What's going on? What did they do to you?" he asked. Her expression grew slightly pouty again.

"That's none of your business. Although…" a prick of mischievousness crept back into her expression, "If you can catch me then maybe I'll tell you," she grinned tauntingly at them. Then abruptly she took off, sprinting away down the road. Envy's eyes widened.

"Damn," he muttered, "Wrath, go get Adele," he ordered, before taking off after his daughter. The dark haired man blinked in surprise and then grimaced, hesitating a moment as he watched the two of them race off. A large part of him wanted to follow them and find out what on earth had happened to his niece to put her in such a state. But if Adele really was in the old ballroom then he needed to go find her. Envy would be able to handle his daughter… at least he hoped. He turned and headed off at a jog in the opposite direction from them towards Dante's old hideout.

He reached the large building before long and slipped inside. Navigating the inside of it wasn't a problem. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget the layout of the place. It was burned into his memory by a number of unpleasant past experiences. He made for the large ballroom and was unnerved to discover torches already lit around the route that was most frequently used to get there. Obviously someone had been making use of this place.

He was partway down the hallway leading to the stairwell into the large room when he heard footsteps echoing up the stairs. He froze in place, tension settling over him. Was it one of the kidnappers? He held his breath, straining to hear each sound. From the weight of the footsteps whoever it was couldn't be an overly large person. They were probably female. Was it the other creature that Elmina hadn't gotten a chance to see?

The question was answered a moment later when the figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Relief washed over him as he recognized the familiar blonde curls and large blue eyes.

"Adele!" he started towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Wrath?" she came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

"Are you alright?" the dark haired man asked as he reached her. She didn't appear injured, but that wasn't any reflection on her mental wellbeing. It wouldn't be surprising if she was in shock after having been kidnapped. She frowned slightly.

"I…think so. Where's Mina?" her tone was concerned. Wrath hesitated. He wasn't quite sure what to tell the blonde girl. Upon seeing his reluctance she continued, "The guy with the red hair did something to her. I'm not sure what it was, but they both took off not that long ago," she explained, clearly worried.

"How did you get away?" Wrath frowned.

"They let me go. They said they would if Mina agreed to do what they wanted," her expression wavered, filling with guilt, "If anything happens to her it's my fault…"

"Don't start beating yourself up now. Envy went after her. I'm sure he's caught up with her by now. Let's meet them back at the hotel," he told her firmly.

"What happened?" She demanded, clearly unconvinced by his reassurance. Wrath sighed. Sometimes her perceptiveness was inconvenient.

"She's…acting a little odd. You can see for yourself when we meet up with them," he explained. Then his brow furrowed in concern, "Are you sure you're alright? They didn't hurt you at all?" he hadn't been sure what condition they would find her in when they got her back. He was a little surprised at how ok she seemed. Adele shifted, glancing away with a slight frown.

"Well…they did something…I don't know. It's hard to explain. But I'm ok now. Whatever it was wore off," she met his gaze again. From her tone she was eager to drop the subject. Wrath eyed her for a moment, not particularly satisfied with her answer. Finally he grimaced.

"Alright then. Let's get going,"

* * *

Central City had grown in size since the days when Envy had roamed the streets in disguise as a homunculus. There were more vehicles on the roads and they moved at faster speeds than they had in the past. While the technology hadn't reached the same level as he recalled seeing in the world on the other side of the gate, it had certainly progressed. And right now that progression was making life extremely stressful for the green haired man.

He raced down the street after his daughter, dodging around people and cyclists. They'd left the Old District behind them. His daughter seemed to have an endless amount of energy. She also seemed to have completely lost her mind. Every now and then she'd cut out into the road, dodging around the moving traffic in what was either an attempt to lose him or an absolute careless disregard for the danger she was putting herself and the people around her in. A thrill of anxiety shot through him as he watched his daughter, who was about half a block ahead of him, dart out into the middle of the road again. There was the sound of screeching tires and honking horns as drivers swerved about in an attempt to avoid hitting the dark haired girl.

"_Elmina!_" he shouted, pushing himself faster. He was astounded she hadn't caused an accident yet. She was going to get herself killed! To his shock she came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road and turned to face him. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"What do you want?" she called. He made a sound of consternation.

"_Get off the road you damn fool!" _His voice echoed clearly down the street. She blinked, cocking her head at him. Envy's stomach dropped as he saw a vehicle zip around the corner, clearly going faster than the speed limit allowed. _**"Mina, get out of the way!" **_he yelled, a feeling of panic gripping him. He saw her glance back over her shoulder at the oncoming car, though she didn't appear particularly concerned by it. The driver slammed on the breaks, causing the vehicle to screech as it began to skid to a halt. Envy's eyes widened as he watched his daughter eye the rapidly approaching vehicle, and instead of darting out of the way she actually ran _toward_ it. Then next thing he knew she'd leapt up onto the hood of the car, stumbled up the windshield and across the roof in a terrifyingly haphazard manner before leaping off the back of it and continuing down the road at a sprint. He swore under his breath and pushed himself faster. His heart stuttered in alarm as he watched her dodge to the left to avoid a van, the driver of that vehicle jerking sharply to the side and almost hitting another car in the next lane.

Finally the dark haired girl seemed to realize that it was more difficult to navigate through the middle of the street than it was to remain on the sidewalk. She darted back into the crowd of people walking past the downtown shops. She was actually drawing quite a bit of attention, with people making exclamations, pointing, and stopping to stare in horrified awe at the reckless antics of the teenage girl. To Envy's relief it appeared she was also beginning to slow down at a rapid pace. She'd likely pushed herself past her own limits. She'd been running for quite some time now. The green haired man was decidedly out of breath attempting to keep up with her. The only thing that had kept him going during the last couple blocks was the terrified adrenalin racing through him.

"Hey!" He called, dashing towards her through the crowd. People were scrambling to get out of his way, and to his surprise he saw several men attempting to stop his daughter's progress, clearly trying to prevent a potential accident. She staggered back and forth trying to dodge around them unsuccessfully.

"Mina," he finally reached her and grabbed her shoulder firmly. She spun to face him, eyes wide. For a moment she just stared at him. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded harshly, "You're going to get yourself killed!" the crowd around them had drawn back slightly, many of the people pausing to watch the bizarre scene unfold. The men who had attempted to interfere had backed off, clearly preferring someone who knew the crazy girl to take over the situation. Elmina, like her father, was breathing heavily. She was also quivering from head to toe, which Envy suspected was due to adrenalin.

"Elmina," there was an unyielding edge to his voice, "Answer me," he ordered. He watched her waver for a moment, a terrible confusion filling her gaze. He was startled to realize that the cocky bravado from earlier had disappeared. She actually looked…frightened. A moment later her expression crumbled and a tear slipped down her cheek. It was followed by several more. A sob found its way out of her mouth. Then abruptly she latched onto him, hiding her face against his chest as she began to sob harder, each one wracking her body with an unexpected intensity. His arms went around her automatically but he stared down at her in shocked confusion. She sounded utterly heartbroken. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her cry like this. It was the sort of reaction he'd expect from her if she'd just found out Adele had died. This wasn't the overly dramatic crying of a pointlessly hysterical person. Something was seriously upsetting the dark haired girl. Her blatantly obvious distress made his heart clench. He tightened his hold around her. "Mina, what's wrong?" he demanded, feeling a frustrated helplessness fill him. What was happening to his daughter?

Then without warning she shoved herself away from him, staggering backwards slightly.

"Stay away from me!" she sobbed, hands coming up to wipe at her tear stained cheeks.

"Mina," he took a step towards her but she flinched away.

"_Get away from me you monster!_" she shrieked, turning and darting away from him. He actually staggered slightly, eyes widening in shock. She might as well have stabbed him for the effect that her tone and the terrified look in her eyes had had on him. For a minute he couldn't remember how to breathe. She'd _never_ looked at him like that before. Well, except in some of his nightmares... What had happened to his daughter?!

The sound of her startled cry snapped him out of his daze. He felt a prick of surprise to see someone had grabbed her and was restraining her. Two someone's actually. He recognized their blonde hair.

"Elmina, what on earth is going on?" he heard Edward demand, refusing to release the dark haired girl's wrists despite her struggling. She was crying too hard for the attempt to be very effective anyway. Sara's arms went around the younger girl's shoulders.

"Hey now, it's ok," her voice was soothing, "Just calm down," she told her firmly. Envy started forward and reached them a moment later.

"What's going on here?" Edward demanded, fixing him with a dead serious gaze, still keeping hold of the sobbing girl. Envy shook his head, trying to push aside the mass of tangled up emotions the last half hour had stirred up inside him.

"I have no idea. Those creatures did something to her. It's like she's lost her mind," he told him, forcing his voice to remain even. "We need to get her back to the hotel. It's not safe to have her out in public like this," he eyed his daughter, battling against the distraught anxiety which was attempting to completely invade his mind. What had they done to her? Had she literally lost her mind? Was it a permanent thing, or would it pass? What was he supposed to do to help her? He didn't understand what was going on inside her head. He'd never seen her like this before. He turned away from her for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek in an attempt to get his racing thoughts under control. It was extremely difficult to think straight with her sobbing in front of him like this.

"Alright let's get her back," Ed said, a cool practicality radiating from him. He cared about Elmina to a large degree, but she wasn't his own child. Emotionally he was probably in a better state of mind to rationally assess the situation. He also hadn't experienced her attacking him or racing wildly through traffic. Sara stepped away from her, allowing her father to put an arm around the dark haired girl's shoulder to pull her against his side, "Mina," his voice was gentle, but firm enough to get her attention past the crying, "I need you to come with us. Everything is going to be fine. We're just going to go somewhere a little quieter," he explained. She didn't pull away, and after a minute she nodded. The two of them started forward down the sidewalk. The crowd parted, allowing them to pass through, although there were plenty people still gawking at them.

"Go stare at someone else!" Envy snapped, feeling a surge of protective anger, "There's nothing to see here," his glare was enough to convince most of the onlookers that their time would be better spent somewhere else. After a moment he glanced at Sara.

"Let's go," he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Sara asked cautiously, following after him.

"What do you think?" he retorted, tone a little caustic. He hated feeling so out of control of the situation. He dealt with a number of unique, difficult experiences over the years, but none of them had been quite like this one. A deep frown creased his brow. He needed to speak with Elsie. From their brief conversation on the phone he suspected she would have a better idea about what was going on here than anyone else.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Yikes…..full blown manic episodes are…well there isn't quite one word that effectively describes them. Although **_**WTF**_**?!**** sort of comes close. *nervous laugh***

**I like to write from personal experience. Sadly, I can't say that I lost my mind because a hot, dangerous creature showed up and head butted me. At some level I think that would have been preferable lol. Mental illnesses aren't fun or glamorous. They don't come with attractive characters and exciting story lines. Unless of course you're delusional/hallucinating and that just ends with you being drugged into a stupor in a psych ward (and in my experience you don't hallucinate stuff like that away…). I've chosen to turn my illness into something fun by writing this story and creating the characters of Mania and Despair to represent the two polar ends of Bipolar Disorder. I **_**wish**_** that in real life they could be as fun as they end up being in this story. But they aren't. **

**Those of you without a mental illness, savour your sanity. Because insanity is **_**so**_** overrated. It's a fun form of self-expression to claim to be different, a little nuts, "bipolar", etc. **_**as long as you aren't.**_** "I'm friends with the monster under my bed. I get along with the voices inside of my head." That's a catchy phrase from a popular Eminem song. It's so satisfying at some level. You're daring, different, you stand out from the crowd and apparently that comes across as attractive, **_**as long as it isn't actually true. **_**It's socially acceptable for sane people to claim insanity, because everyone knows it isn't 100% literal. But if you've actually been diagnosed with a mental illness... Well. That's an **_**illness**_**. Better be careful of those people. They've got serious 'issues'. Actual insanity is very uncool, and not something one brags about. It's scary, dangerous, and it often royally screws up your life. Everyone has their own issues. But if you don't have a serious mental illness, stop for a moment and be grateful because sanity is a blessing. Perhaps it seems ordinary and mundane to you. But once you've lost it once it becomes a very precious thing. **

**Nevertheless, turning insanity into a character (Mania) has been an absolute blast, and I hope you enjoy him xP in real life I wish I could slap him. Really hard. But in this story he's just ridiculously fun to write. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. He'll grow on you. Like a red, sparkly fungus. **

**Despair…she's another story. We'll get to her later... *wilt***

**For those of you who are interested, I've uploaded several pictures of both Mania and Despair to my deviantART account. You can find the link at the bottom of my profile page ;)  
**


	9. Chapter 8 - Impendinig Invasion

**Chapter 8 – Impending Invasion**

Wrath and Adele were headed down the sidewalk towards the hotel. They were walking through pools of golden light cast by the streetlamps since it had grown completely dark out. The dark haired man glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She seemed…pensive. Of course, that was probably to be expected given her worry about the state of her friend. What had happened to her while she'd been kidnapped? She didn't seem to be frightened or in shock as he'd expected the rather timid girl to be after such a traumatic experience. She just seemed to be deep in concerned thought. It was somewhat puzzling.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he questioned again, tone doubtful. She looked at him and smiled faintly.

"I'm fine, honestly. In any case, I'm not the one you should be worrying about," she glanced away with a worried frown. Wrath blinked. Before he could ask her what she meant by that statement she made a soft exclamation.

"Titus?" she called in surprise. Wrath followed her gaze to see Roy's son strolling towards them down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. The young man's eyes widened in shock as his gaze lighted upon the blonde girl.

"Adele?!" he gasped, practically staggering in surprise. Then he rushed towards them, reaching Adele and hesitating as if wanting to grab her to make sure she was really there but not wanting to risk accidentally breaking something fragile. "You're here? What happened? Are you ok?" he demanded in a rush, expression unusually unguarded and concerned. Adele blinked, appearing slightly taken aback. She pulled up a weak smile for him.

"I'm ok. They let me go when Mina found me. What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. Titus hesitated, expression wavering before growing solemn.

"I just came from the hotel. I talked with Edward there. He said if I happened to run into you guys to tell you that right now it would be better if you hold off on going to see Mina," he explained. Adele's expression grew bewildered.

"But, is she ok? I need to see her," she protested. Titus shook his head grimly.

"From what I saw of her it's much better if you stay away for now. She isn't herself at the moment," he replied.

"But—" she began but he cut her off.

"Look, your father and your uncle and your sister are all looking after her. Elsie is coming tomorrow morning. I'm sure they'll figure something out and she'll be fine. But right now the less people that are around to complicate the situation the better. We can drop by in the morning and see how she's doing. Alright?" his tone was diplomatic but firm. Adele regarded him with a frown, clearly not at all happy about this information. Titus sighed. "Look, I know you're worried about her. But right now I think you showing up would be more distressing than helpful for both of you," he told her, expression slightly apologetic. The blonde girl glanced at the ground, appearing troubled.

"Well…if you say so," she murmured. The dark haired alchemist stared at her with a mixed expression for a moment, but rather than risk upsetting her more with empty reassurances he turned to Wrath.

"My father wants to speak with you," he informed the older man, tone serious. Wrath nodded, not appearing particularly surprised by the information.

"I know. I've been a little preoccupied the last few days," he replied.

"Why don't you two come and stay at our place for the night? We have spare rooms you can use. And apparently what father wants to speak with you about is urgent," Titus replied, his eyes grave. Wrath frowned slightly.

"Alright. If that's the case then we should get moving," he replied, concern entering his voice. The younger man glanced at Adele. The blonde girl sighed softly.

"Let's go then," she said, tone resigned.

* * *

Wrath strolled into the office, glancing around briefly. It was a rather cosy room, lit by lamps with artwork adorning the walls. There was an antique desk covered in piles of paperwork and behind the desk sat a dark haired man with an eye patch. His lined face and slightly greying hair testified to the years that had passed since the conflict which had left him with a single eye. The coolly commanding air about him was marred slightly by the plaid PJs and slippers which he was currently wearing. Wrath's lip twitched slightly as he came to stand in front of the desk. It was much harder to take Brigadier General Mustang seriously when he was dressed so very…casually…

"Wrath," Roy greeted him, "It's been a long time. I'm glad you got back safely," the Flame Alchemist eyed him with an unreadable expression. Wrath nodded.

"I apologize for the delay in coming. I've been slightly…preoccupied by things since I arrived. I assume you received the report I sent before I left Aerugo?" he asked. Roy nodded.

"I want to thank you again for agreeing to help me with this. Your information gathering has been invaluable," he told him, a hint of gratitude in his voice.

"I'm not doing it for you. Resembool and Dublith would be among the first places to be affected if Aerugo invades," Wrath replied, expression serious. Roy grimaced, glancing down at a letter sitting on the desk in front of him.

"It's not an 'if' but a 'when'. If what my sources tell me is accurate then it appears they will be making their move before the end of the year," he told the younger man. Wrath's eyes widened.

"So soon? I thought they were still waiting on Drachma to gather its forces?" his tone was startled. Roy made a face.

"Yes. But while you were away my main agent among the Drachman forces was taken out by their counter intelligence. It took me some time to get another one maneuvered into position. But now, from what their most recent report says, Drachma has moved a large portion of its army to camp near the border. They are ready to invade immediately if their general sees fit to give the order. I'm not even sure what they're waiting for at this point," he sounded slightly at a loss. Wrath frowned deeply, clearly troubled by the news. He was silent for a moment, gaze resting unfocusedly on the desk before him as he turned the information over in his mind.

"I know what they're waiting for," he replied finally, "The reason I came back now is because I needed to convey some information to you in person and discuss our options. I didn't realize things had become so urgent."

"What is it?" Roy asked, mildly alarmed.

"Aerugo has managed to turn several of our Council members to their side. They're planning to assassinate the remaining members to throw the government into chaos before they attack. With the restrictions that have been placed on our armies by the Council that would essentially leave the Aerugans in control of our military," Wrath explained grimly. Roy paled slightly, leaning back in his chair.

"Is that so?" he murmured, a frown creasing his brow, "Then we're in even more trouble than I had imagined."

"They'll have the Council assassinated and then Drachma will invade from the north, effectively tying up the majority of our military forces which are already stationed up there. Blame for the assassination will be placed on the Drachmans, and while everyone is distracted focusing on the northern border Aerugo will launch its invasion from the south. They'll capture South City and move on to take East City. With our forces tied up in the north and our government in shambles they'll have little trouble accomplishing this," Wrath told him, "I made the decision to return with this information because from what I was able to gather this is the final version of the plan they've been formulating over the last few year." Roy shook his head at these words.

"Well then. This certainly complicates things," he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and weaving his fingers together. Silence reigned over the room for several minutes while both men processed what they'd learned. Finally Roy sighed. "I'm sure you're aware of the main problem I'm up against here. The mission I sent you on was a private mission known only to myself. As far as the Council is concerned our relations with Aerugo are quite good. They don't see any reason to believe otherwise. I have attempted speaking with some of the more sensible ones in an attempt to explain the situation to them, but I have been unable to sway any of them. They are all far too eager to hang on to the peace which they believe they've managed to establish after the overthrow of Bradley's administration. And with all of the supposed goodwill coming from Aerugo with trading rights and friendly associations, they believe they have good reason to believe that everything is fine. Still…if what you say is true, then perhaps their stubbornness is not so much naivety as it is Aerugan gold. If they've been bribed into turning a blind eye that would explain a lot of things."

At that moment there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in," Roy called, glancing over at it. The door opened to reveal his wife Riza. Her slightly greying blond hair was falling loosely over her shoulders and like her husband she was dressed in pyjamas, though she wore a robe over them. She walked in carrying two steaming mugs, one of which she handed off to Wrath while the other she set before her husband on the desk.

"I thought the two of you could use a drink," she explained, "It's good to see you again Wrath," she glanced at the dark haired young man with a slight smile.

"Likewise," Wrath replied. Roy sighed.

"My dear I could use something a good deal stronger than this at the moment," he said, staring down at the tea in his mug resignedly. Riza rolled her eyes.

"The last thing you need right now is alcohol. You can have that _after_ you've figured out what to do about our country's problems," she replied dryly, "Why don't you have a seat?" she suggested to Wrath, motioning to one of the chairs near the desk. She sank down into the other free seat as the dark haired man obeyed.

"Getting back to the topic at hand, do you know how they were planning to accomplish this assassination?" Roy asked, fixing his gaze on Wrath.

"It was difficult to get precise details. But I don't imagine it would be especially difficult for them to arrange. You know how lax security has gotten over the past few years. If they've managed to get some of the Council members themselves to switch sides then I don't doubt there are others further down the chain of command or even among the general work force who have been turned as well," Wrath replied speculatively. Riza shook her head.

"They wouldn't even need to go as far as that. With how enthusiastically our government has promoted good relations with Aerugo and Creta there are a number of immigrants from both countries now living here in Amestris. Some of them have even gone to the trouble of gaining Amestrian citizenship and finding jobs within our military and government. All in the name of 'strengthening relations' of course," she pointed out.

"Actually, as far as I can tell Creta has refused to join with the alliance between Drachma and Aerugo. They are only just beginning to recover from the drawn out wars they were involved in with us when our old government was in power. They aren't economically capable of engaging in yet another conflict," Wrath commented, "However, as I mentioned in my last report, the country which borders both Creta and Aerugo to the southwest, Donbachi, has joined the alliance. That's where the majority of the military forces Aerugo has been building up are lying low. It's far enough away from our country that little notice is given to what takes place there."

"Well, if we can somehow expose their plans to assassinate the Council then that would likely serve to delay the invasion. Not to mention the Council would be forced to recognize the immediate threat which our southern neighbor poses to us. With our country alerted to the danger it might be enough for Aerugo and Drachma to forestall the invasion all together. Losing the advantage of surprise would be problematic for them. Despite the cutbacks the Council has enforced on the military, we're still a force to be reckoned with," Roy stated, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"That's true. But finding a way to expose the assassination before it takes place is going to be difficult," Wrath's tone was resigned.

"Actually… I suspect I know who at least one of the rogue Council members is. One of my private agents like yourself managed to get quite close to him and he does happen to be of partially Aerugan decent. He's one of the most active advocates of the positive relations between Amestris and Aerugo. On top of which from what we've gathered he harbors strong feelings towards his mother country. I have been a little unsure what to make of him up till now, but if what you say is true then it paints his actions in a somewhat different light," Roy told him. "I would like you to meet with my other agent who discovered this. You're already distantly familiar with her I'm sure. Her name is Elycia Hughes. She's currently working as my secretary, thought that's simply a front to keep her undercover work for me a secret," Roy's gaze grew meaningful. Wrath blinked. Elycia was working for Mustang? He didn't know her well. For obvious reasons relations with the Hughes family were…tentative. Elsie had certainly spent a fair amount of time with them over the years, especially when Elycia had been younger and in need of a baby sitter. But neither he nor Envy were particularly eager to involve themselves with them. As far as he knew neither of the women were aware of what had taken place in the past, but it was still decidedly uncomfortable, especially for Envy.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and noted the slightly warning look on Roy's face. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Did Roy honestly believe he'd be as careless as to blow another agent's cover?

"You know I'm not going to let anything slip," Wrath replied flatly. Roy smirked faintly.

"I know. I just wanted to be sure you were well informed of the situation," he replied, sitting back in his chair, "It is my hope that the two of you will be able to work together successfully on this. The girl is as sharp as a tack and she takes after her dearly departed father in more ways than one," the dark haired alchemist told him dryly. Riza chuckled softly. Wrath raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly that cryptic comment meant. "In any case," Roy smothered a yawn behind his hand, "We should all get some rest. I will introduce you to Miss Hughes tomorrow," he said. Wrath nodded.

"You must be exhausted," Riza commented, glancing at Wrath, "Adele told me what's been happening with your family over the last week. Do you have any idea what could be happening to Elmina? From what my son had to say it sounds as if whatever is wrong is rather serious," her tone was slightly concerned. Wrath grimaced.

"At the moment I don't know. I'm sure her parents will get to the bottom of it," he replied. Roy blinked in surprise.

"You'll have to let me in on what's been happening. When you said you were preoccupied this week I didn't realize it was a family thing," the Flame Alchemist commented, "If there's anything we can do to help, you know you just have to ask."

"Actually…" Wrath's expression grew thoughtful, "There might be something you can do. Alphonse has been unconscious in the hospital for the past week. I don't believe he's going to be waking up anytime soon," his tone was grim, "I suspect he'll need to be moved out of the hospital at some point. Although I don't think it would be practical to try and transport him back to Resembool." Roy's eyes widened.

"Al's in the hospital? I had no idea…"

"Ed's been a little distracted. I don't think it occurred to him to mention it to you," Wrath explained. Roy frowned, clearly troubled by the news.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" he suggested. Wrath's expression grew slightly bemused.

"It's somewhat complicated," he warned. Roy's expression had grown grave.

"That's fine. I've got all night," he replied.

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**Guess this chapter was a bit of a change in pace. Hopefully it wasn't too boring x.x I know it was kind of slow...  
**

**This chapter had me stumped for ages. It was hard to come up with the underlying storyline for this story. It isn't entirely about emotional drama. Perhaps that will come as a relief to some of you….though….there's still a lot of emotional drama anyway x'D I get some serious satisfaction from writing that stuff. **

**So! The WrathxElycia aspect of this story…if you're reading the story mainly for that reason…*shifty eyes* it's….at least as slow a relationship as the EnvyxElsie relationship in the last story….And…they won't get a lot of screen time until later chapters…BUT they will eventually get their share of screen time and once you get into the flow of their own little storyline I suspect you shall enjoy it. They've been a tough pair to write, but I've loved every minute of it. Just wait till you meet Elycia… *chuckle***


	10. Chapter 9 - Bipolar Disorder

**Chapter 9 – Bipolar Disorder**

The night had been one of the longest of Envy's life.

They'd gotten back to the hotel without incident and chained the door shut. Leaving Sara to keep an eye on it just in case Elmina made a break away, Envy and Ed had taken the dark haired girl into the bedroom and sat her down on the bed. Her crying had finally ceased and her expression had shifted inexplicably from distraught to curious.

"Mina, I want you to explain to us what happened," Ed told her slowly, watching her with a serious expression. Envy stood back observing the two of them. After his daughter's adverse reaction to him earlier he was reluctant to step in and possibly make things worse. Elmina blinked at the golden haired man.

"Uncle Ed, why is Winry here? I thought she needed to be back at the shop?" her tone was puzzled and her words were unusually rushed sounding, almost making her difficult to understand. Both men stared at her with blank expressions. Upon seeing their reaction Elmina frowned. "What?" she demanded, a little defensive. It was a moment before her uncle was able to come up with a response.

"Mina," Ed began carefully, "Winry isn't here," his expression was guarded. Elmina's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes she is," she protested, "You left her standing out by the door," she sounded a little indignant. Envy stared at his daughter, thrown for a loop. Was she hallucinating? Then a thought occurred to him.

"Elmina… that's Sara, not Winry," he told her, watching her uneasily. He wasn't sure if that was really the mix up, but his daughter was definitely out of it and Sara did bear some resemblance to her mother. Elmina's gaze moved to him, clearly confused. She opened her mouth to say something and then hesitated. She blinked as if she'd lost her train of thought. Then her gaze shifted back to Edward.

"Winry has a lot to do. She needs to go back. AJ can't handle things all by himself," her tone was concerned. Edward glanced back at Envy and they shared a look. Clearly this conversation wouldn't be going anywhere fast.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm sure AJ has everything under control," Edward told her finally. Elmina shook her head stubbornly, clearly not buying it one bit.

"No he can't! It's too much for one person to handle," her tone was adamant.

The two of them had continued attempting to convince her to drop the subject of Winry, but they were unsuccessful. It didn't take long for Elmina to get fed up with them. She rose to her feet and stormed out of the room, brushing off their half-hearted attempts to stop her. They were reluctant to try forcefully restraining her unless absolutely necessary. They didn't want to provoke her into lashing out violently again.

Luckily for them the dark haired girl had been simply content to walk out to see Sara, immediately launching into a lecture at her for leaving her 'son' behind in Resembool to deal with everything on his own. The Luminescent Alchemist had stared at her with a very confused expression throughout her rant, not at all sure how to respond.

"Well? Are you going to go back and help him or not?" Elmina demanded, finally coming to the end of her lecture.

"Uh…" Sara searched for a reply rather unsuccessfully. How was one supposed to respond to something like this? It was Envy who stepped in to intervene.

"She'll be going back first thing in the morning. She can't go right now because it's too late to catch any trains," he explained firmly. If she couldn't be talked out of her irrational beliefs, then playing along with them for the time being was likely the best bet. Elmina turned to stare at him for a moment, clearly pondering his words. Finally she nodded, appearing satisfied with this answer.

The night had continued on in a similarly bizarre manner. Elmina absolutely refused to sleep. Even when they managed to talk her into lying down she wouldn't stay still for more than a few minutes before she was up and about, rambling away about something they could barely follow. She would occasionally grow irritated with their apparent stupidity, but her attention span was short enough that she soon forgot why she'd been frustrated in the first place. Occasionally there would be a shift in her mood and she'd become extremely confused and distraught. Inconsolable tears would soon follow. But these crying fits only lasted a short time before she was abruptly back to her chatty, inquisitive self. She attempted to leave the room several times, both through the door as well as the bedroom window. But despite the locks on each of them being on the inside, they seemed to frustrate her enough that she'd give up and forget why she'd had the sudden desire to attempt to leave in the first place.

This went on until morning. Finally Edward, Sara and Envy had agreed to take shifts watching her while one of them grabbed an hour or so of rest. Unlike Elmina, they were all bordering on exhausted. It was rather astounding how energetic she continued to be. Sara's attempt to occupy her with a card game had ended in her sitting back and watching her cousin in puzzlement as it became clear that the dark haired girl had no concept of following rules and was quite happy to make up how the game should go as she went. When morning finally came it found Elmina seated on the couch in the living room attempting to deconstruct an alchemically constructed puzzle that Edward had whipped up in a final desperate attempt to keep her occupied. Despite her short attention span, she'd actually remained focused on it for almost half an hour.

There was a knock on the door. Envy's head snapped up, jerking him out of his slight doze. He was seated in the chair across from his daughter. Edward was grabbing a bit of rest and the green haired man had sent Sara down to grab some breakfast for herself. He rose to his feet and started across the room towards the door. He pulled it open and was a little startled to come face to face with his wife. AJ was standing behind the dark haired woman. Elsie took one look at her husband and her expression deteriorated.

"We're too late?" she asked in alarm, more of a statement than a question. Envy nodded grimly. There were a number of questions he wanted answers to.

"What do you know about those creatures?" he demanded, "They did something to her," there was an edge to his voice. Elsie's expression grew guarded.

"What do you mean? Is she alright?"

"It's like she's lost her mind! Yesterday she was running around in the middle of traffic. She didn't sleep at all last night and she won't keep quiet for more than five minutes at a stretch. And for some reason she's convinced that Sara is Winry. What is going on with our daughter?!" he sounded like he was at his wit's end. Elsie grew pale, staring at him with wide eyes. It was a moment before she found her voice.

"Let me in," she said finally. Envy moved aside and she strode past him into the sitting area followed by AJ. Elmina glanced up in surprise.

"Mom?" she asked, and then her gaze landed on the brown haired mechanic behind the older woman and she gasped. "What are you going here? Who's looking after the shop?" she rose to her feet abruptly, clearly alarmed. AJ blinked, a little taken off guard.

"Uh…mom is. She wanted me to go with Elsie and make sure she got here safely," he explained, eyeing the dark haired girl uncertainly. Elmina's gaze grew extremely confused.

"B-but…she just went downstairs a few minutes ago," she protested weakly. There was a troubled expression on her face. AJ frowned, opening his mouth to reply when Envy cut him off.

"Don't bother," he advised tiredly, "There's no point." Elsie stared at her daughter for a moment, noting her unusually wide eyes and rapid speech. She let out a shaky breath, resting her forehead in her hand. After what her husband had told her she knew with an absolute certainty what was happening to their daughter. And from what she'd experienced the day before with Despair, something told her the culprit wasn't far off. Finally she raised her head.

"Alright Mania, where the hell are you?" she demanded. Her tone was flat. Envy and AJ both glanced at her, clearly confused by the odd statement. There was a brief silence. Then abruptly, to everyone's surprise, an odd blur formed in the air in the center of the room. It grew and shifted, becoming opaque before finally taking on the form of a man. A moment later a red haired creature stood before them, appearing exactly how Elmina had described her assailant from the night before last. Slit pupils, wild hair, long sleeved crop top and trousers. A crooked headband held back his flamingly red hair, and the slight grin on his face revealed pointed teeth.

"Figured me out so quickly? I'm impressed. Long-time no see Elsie," his grin broadened slightly. Elsie's eyes narrowed. Despite its distinct differences from the depressive state which she was unhappily familiar with, her feelings about the manic side of her former disorder weren't exactly warm and fuzzy.

"You bastard," she hissed, "Leave my daughter alone!"

"Hey now, don't be like that," Mania's expression grew mildly put out, "You and I had a lot of fun together!" he told her, his tone innocently sincere. Elsie stared at him.

"I'm not sure I would classify being locked in a psych ward and drugged back into sanity as _'fun'_" she replied finally, her tone unenthused.

"Aw, don't be a spoil sport," he retorted unconcernedly, "Admit it, you enjoyed parts of that particular episode. There were some fantastically creative delusions going on if I remember correctly," his tone was appreciative. Elsie's hand's clenched into fists.

"It's because of that episode that my mother wound up dead!" she snapped. Mania tisked at her, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Now Elsie, it isn't _my_ fault that Despair enjoys breaking her toys," he told her, tone slightly patronizing. "Besides, if it weren't for that episode you would never have met your interesting husband and ended up living here with your daughter," he pointed out.

"Leave my daughter alone! You don't need to involve her in this!" Elsie cried.

"Actually, I do. After all, aside from you she's really the only person in this dimension I can affect to the level which I can get enjoyment out of. And Despair has labelled you as 'off limits' until your pregnancy passes. So my dear little Mina is the only available host for me at the moment," he explained forlornly. At this Envy bristled, letting out a growl. Whoever this bastard was he had no right to refer to his daughter like that.

"You let her go _right now!" _The green haired man's expression was rather frightening as he took a threatening step towards the red haired creature. He didn't understand the details, but he had gathered enough to know that this man was somehow having an influence over his daughter. The red haired man smirked at him.

"Don't bother. You couldn't hurt me if you tried," his tone was unconcerned. With an angry exclamation Envy lunged at him. Then his eyes widened in surprise as the creature moved almost faster than his eyes could follow. The next thing he knew he'd been kicked in the chest and sent flying backwards. His head cracked against the wall as he made contact with it, thoroughly dazing him.

"Envy!" Elsie cried in alarm as her husband slid to the floor. Upon seeing him still conscious despite the hard impact she whirled on the red haired creature. "Stop this!" her tone was desperate. Mania regarded her bemusedly.

"He started it," he pointed out mildly.

"Hey," everyone turned a startled gaze on Elmina as she finally spoke up. She was staring at Mania with an upset frown. "Don't hurt my family," she ordered him sternly. She sounded more reprimanding than worried. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Sorry Mouse, but I don't take orders from you," his tone was amused.

"Look," Elsie said, "this isn't fair," her tone was plaintive. Mania glanced at her and let out a chuckle.

"My dear, do you recall us ever being particularly fair back in your home dimension? Just because we have bodies now doesn't change the way we like to operate," he told her frankly, "Although…" he glanced back at the dark haired girl speculatively. Elsie watched him helplessly, nails biting into her palms. After a moment he nodded. "For right now I might just humour you. As deliciously fun as this has been, I'm rather eager to explore this dimension a bit now that I've got a claim on your daughter," abruptly he grinned, "I'll be back," he told them cheerfully. Then he began to dissolve right before their eyes, disappearing entirely a moment later.

There was a long period of silence while everyone stared at the spot where he'd been, slightly stunned by his bizarre teleportation ability. He'd come and gone so quickly…

"Who the hell was that?" everyone glanced over at Edward, who was now standing in the door to the hallway looking somewhat groggy. Before anyone could come up with an answer for him Elmina's knees buckled and she sat down hard on the carpet.

"Mina!" Elsie was beside her daughter in a second, crouching down next to her, "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. The dark haired girl was trembling and there was a guardedly blank expression on her face.

"I…" her voice was faint as her gaze moved across the people in the room. Why was everyone staring at her like this? What had just happened? She felt extremely disoriented. After a moment several memories flooded into her empty mind. Her eyes slowly widened and she raised a hand to cover her mouth, a feeling of horrified embarrassment crashing over her. What had she done? It was all so fuzzy and fragmented. She vaguely remembered attacking her father. And then there were flashes of her running, and then for some reason she'd been crying… but she had no memory of arriving in the hotel room, and only fuzzily remembered bits and pieces of what had taken place after that. Finally she turned and met her mother's concerned gaze. "What just happened…?" she asked her voice barely more than a whisper.

"My question exactly," Envy grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he scrambled to his feet. He eyed his daughter with concern. Elsie bit her lip, staring at Elmina with a troubled expression. There was a brief silence. Finally she let out a soft sigh, glancing over at her green haired husband.

"We should sit down. This is going to be difficult to explain," she said, her tone resigned. She felt numb. So often during her teens she'd felt like she'd been standing on a rug which was constantly being yanked out from underneath her each time she'd thought she was finally ok. Since she'd come to this world it had been so long since she'd had any reason to feel that way. Now it felt like the ground she'd come to believe was unshakable had suddenly opened up and swallowed her. This just couldn't be happening…

Elsie rose to her feet and offered her shaky looking daughter a hand up. Elmina stared at it, appearing unsure of what the gesture even meant. It was a moment before she finally reached out and took it, allowing herself to be pulled into a standing position. The two of them found a place to sit on the couch, while everyone else found seats of their own on the remaining chairs. Elsie drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, combing back through the recesses of her mind to memories she'd done her best to forget over the years. Finally she raised her gaze to stare at Envy.

"Do you remember when we first met?" she asked. He gave her a puzzled look.

"Of course. We were in a hospital together," he replied.

"Do you remember why I was in the hospital?" she pressed. He frowned slightly.

"Well, for some disorder, just like the rest of the people there. I don't see your point here. Didn't the gate take away whatever it was you had?" he demanded. The dark haired woman sighed.

"It did. Which is precisely why we're dealing with our current problem," she replied resignedly.

"…I'm not following you," Envy's frown had deepened, his puzzlement increasing.

"Look, I don't know how it's possible. All I know is that whatever Dante did she somehow brought my disorder out of the gate as a physical manifestation of itself," she explained, "When you met me back in that hospital, I'd been admitted there because I'd been experiencing something very similar to what our daughter just when through. It was triggered by that creature that was just here, Mania. He's half of what was once my Bipolar Disorder," her tone was grim. There was a silence over the room. From their expressions, Edward and AJ clearly weren't following her at all. Envy appeared a little taken aback. Mina stared at her mother uncertainly.

"So the other half…it's that girl Despair?" the dark haired girl asked weakly. Elsie glanced at her, a little surprised, before nodding.

"She's the manifestation of depression. Though, the name Despair is rather fitting," Elsie's gaze moved to the floor, expression troubled, "As much as I hate the thought, I'm almost certain that she'll come after you next,"

"How do you know?" Envy demanded. Elsie grimaced.

"Every manic episode I ever had was followed by a depressive one. What goes up must come down," she sounded pained.

"Ok," Edward spoke up finally, "Let me get this straight. You're saying an illness you had on the other side of the gate somehow took on physical form and is going after your daughter?" he sounded incredulous.

"Essentially yes," she replied. The blonde alchemist stared at her oddly. Elsie let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I don't know how this happened. All I know is that those creatures used to be a part of me. I'd recognize them if I was blind and deaf. I'm certain about this," she said firmly.

"Ok then…but why are they after Mina?" AJ demanded. There was a grave expression on his face.

"You heard what Mania said. I'm not sure about Despair, but I suspect Mina and I are the only people Mania can influence in this dimension. At least to the degree that he wants. Bipolar Disorder is genetic. Mina must have inherited the tendency toward it despite the fact that the disorder is no longer an active part of me," Elsie replied.

"What are they after? Or is this all just for their sick enjoyment?" Envy demanded, frowning deeply.

"I…don't know for sure. It's possible there's a driving motive that they haven't seen fit to mention. They're an illness right? If they aren't affecting anyone then what's the point to their existence?" Elsie suggested tentatively.

"So…how did you manage them back in your dimension?" AJ asked, concern obvious in his gaze.

"Well, they were inside me so I was able to control them to some degree with medication. But they aren't the same here. They don't seem to be as constrained and they are much more dangerous. In my dimension they weren't lethal…well, unless you committed suicide because of them. But when Despair showed up yesterday she had every intention of killing me until she discovered I was pregnant."

"She _what?" _Envy growled, leaning forward slightly in alarm. Elsie sighed softly.

"I'll explain what happened. But first I want to hear what happened here. How did you get caught by Mania?" Elsie asked, turning toward her daughter. Elmina swallowed, staring at the floor. The farther back she combed through her memory the less fuzzy things were. She clearly remembered leaving the hotel room and she remembered running into the red haired creature. From that point on things began to grow more fragmented.

"It's… a little complicated," she glanced up at the others to find their gazes all resting on her intently. This was going to be difficult to explain. She herself wasn't entirely sure why she'd made the choices she had. Looking back, the thoughts and emotions that had influenced her decision making even before she'd completely lost control didn't seem completely rational. "Well…" she began, "It started with me deciding to go for a walk…"

* * *

**-Author's Note-**

**I had a little mental illness rant back in chapter 7. I won't subject you to another one lol. Though honestly, I feel seriously sorry for what my poor parents went through during my major manic episode. Having your kid lose their mind out of the blue is a traumatic experience. Even more so when you have no idea what the hell is going on. **

**On a totally random note, I discovered up until the last chapter I'd been spelling Resembool wrong. So that has now been fixed.**

**I never mentioned it in chapter 7, but unlike the vast majority of OCs with 'dark sides' or whatever you want to call it, when Mania and Despair mess with Elmina they do her **_**no**_** favors. There's no bonus silver lining to the misery. At least no obvious one. She doesn't become some amazingly powerful fighter, or whatever…just no. Life does **_**not**_** work that way. That said, Mania and Despair have their own important roles to play in this story, as you will see. They aren't just in it to screw around (though Mania is pretty sure he is lol).**


	11. Chapter 10 - Reunion

**Chapter 10 – Reunion **

"I hope she's ok," Adele's tone was worried.

"So do I," Wrath replied, quickening his pace. The two of them were walking swiftly down the sidewalk to the hotel. It was early morning and the sun had just barely risen above the horizon, painting the sky with lavender, pink and gold. The morning air was crisp, though the fresh, sweet smell of country air was lost in such a large city, tainted by the thin vale of smog hanging over the streets. Wrath and Adele had risen early since Adele was eager to go and check on her friend. Titus had refrained from accompanying them, stating truthfully that his presence would cause more harm than good. Wrath and Roy had settled on a time to meet in the Flame Alchemist's public office later that day so the former homunculus could be formally introduced to Roy's 'secretary', Miss Hughes. Then Wrath and Adele had said their farewells and left.

They reached the doors of the hotel a moment later and Wrath pulled open the door, allowing Adele to step in first. The two of them made it half way across the lobby before they were accosted.

"_Adele?!_" The voice caused the two of them to turn in surprise to see Sara sprinting towards them across the room. Adele gasped as she was nearly tackled to the floor by her sister's enthusiastic glomp. "I was so worried about you! We all were! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" the Luminescent Alchemist demanded in a rush as she clung tightly to her younger sister.

"I'm ok," Adele assured her bemusedly. Sara abruptly pulled back, holding her sister at arm's length to look her over critically.

"Did they hurt you?" she demanded severely.

"Not seriously," Adele replied quietly. Sara frowned, but before she could say anything the younger girl cut her off, "I'm fine, honestly. They let me go as soon as Mina found me. I ran into Wrath shortly after and then on the way here Titus found us and told us we shouldn't try to visit you guys. We stayed at his house for the night," she explained. Sara nodded.

"Yeah, Titus came by the hotel last night to let us know Wrath had found you and you guys were staying with him, but Dad's been worried sick. He'll be very relieved to see you," the older girl replied.

"How is Mina?" Adele inquired anxiously. Sara hesitated, expression sobering a bit.

"She's…well… she's not quite herself. At least, she wasn't last I saw her. I was just heading back to the room after grabbing some breakfast," she stated carefully. Adele's expression grew more concerned.

"Take me to her. Please," her tone was almost pleading. Sara let out a soft sigh but nodded.

"Alright, follow me," she said, turning towards the stair case.

The three of them ascended the stairs swiftly and soon came to a stop outside one of the rooms. Sara knocked on the door and they stood in silence awaiting a response. A moment later the door opened to reveal a tired looking Edward. When his gaze fell on his youngest daughter he let out a gasp and a moment later Adele was grabbed into a hug.

"Oh, thank heavens you're alright," he breathed, voice hoarse with emotion. He held her tightly for a moment, then he pulled back to stare at her, "You are alright, aren't you?" he asked, his tone uncertain.

"I'm fine," Adele reassured him.

"Adele?!" Elmina's voice could be heard from within the room.

"Mina!" Adele called anxiously. Sara stepped in front of Adele guardedly as the dark haired girl appeared at the door, standing between Elmina and her younger sister.

"It's alright. She's back to normal now," Edward told her. Sara blinked, clearly unsure, but she reluctantly stepped aside. Immediately Adele was caught up in yet another enthusiastic hug as Elmina threw her arms around her.

"Oh Adele," the dark haired girl's tone was filled with a mixture of guilt and relief, "I'm so sorry," she whispered brokenly, "So, so sorry," Elmina rested her face against Adele's shoulder. The blonde hugged her back tightly, keenly aware that her friend was fighting to hold back tears. It was slightly shocking. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the dark haired girl cry. And her words sent a wash of surprise through her.

"Mina, what on earth are you apologizing for?" she asked, clearly puzzled. Elmina pulled back to stare at her.

"I let you get kidnapped!" She snapped, expression filled with guilt, "And then when I found you, I just left you behind!" her voice wavered slightly as she fought to remain in control of her emotions. Adele's eyes widened in understanding and then her expression filled with grim determination.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for any of that," she ordered sternly, "None of it is your fault. I'm alright," her tone left no room for argument. Elmina swallowed hard, expression still troubled, but didn't attempt to argue with her. Both girls knew getting into such a debate would be pointless. Neither would be willing to admit the other was right.

"Adele?" A voice from the doorway drew the blonde girl's attention. AJ stood beside his father, expression filled with relief. She smiled at him, stepping around her dark haired friend to wrap her older brother in a hug. Apparently he was the only member of her family with the self-control not to throw himself at her, which didn't really surprise her. His calmer personality mirrored hers in a way, and just because his emotions weren't all loudly displayed for the world to see didn't mean she hadn't worried him sick. "You really are ok?" he asked softly. She couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"I really am ok," she replied, pulling away with a smile. Her gazed moved back to Elmina. "But enough about me. Are _you_ ok?" she asked, eyeing her friend with concern. Elmina's dark circles were like bruises against the paler than usual skin of her face and her eyes were reddened; whether from sleep deprivation or crying it was difficult to tell.

"I'm ok now. I don't know what Mania was doing to me, but he stopped when mom showed up earlier," Elmina said, rubbing an eye tiredly.

"You look exhausted. I think you should try to get some sleep," Wrath spoke up, a concerned frown creasing his brow.

"I agree. You were up all night. Your body needs a chance to recover," Edward told her. Elmina nodded slowly.

"I think you're right. Maybe I'll go lie down," she said, turning back towards the door. As she stepped forward she swayed and staggered unsteadily. Adele made a surprised exclamation as she saw her friend's legs give out and she started to collapse. AJ was there in an instant, his arms going around her and halting her fall.

"Mina!" Adele cried in alarm.

"It's alright," Edward assured his daughter, "She's just reached her limit. She's looked like she was on the verge of passing out ever since Mania released her. I think her worry over you was the only thing that kept her awake this long," he explained. Adele's expression was mixed as she watched her older brother lift the now unconscious Elmina into his arms carry her back into the room. "Why don't you come down to the lobby with me while I call your mother? She'll be desperately relieved to hear your voice," Ed suggested. Adele wavered a moment, gaze flickering from the door to the room, to her father, then back. Finally she nodded.

"Alright," she agreed.

"I'll come with you," Sara said, resting a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder.

"We'll be back in a little while," Edward said to Wrath. The dark haired man nodded and the three of them set off down the hall. Wrath watched them for a moment before turning and heading into the hotel room. There were some things he needed to discuss with Elsie and Envy.

He found Envy sitting in the living room alone. He raised his eyebrows at the green haired man questioningly.

"Elsie went with AJ to help him tuck Mina into bed. They'll both be back in a minute," Envy explained. Wrath nodded, moving to sit in one of the chairs across from him.

"You look like hell," he informed the older man bluntly. Envy massaged his temples with a hand tiredly.

"Not surprising. I'm pretty sure I just spent the last twelve hours there," his tone was dry.

"What happened after we split up?" Wrath asked with a frowned. Envy let out a sigh.

"Well I chased my daughter through Central City traffic for a while until we ran into Ed and he managed to grab her. Then we looked after her for the rest of the night while she buzzed about the room in various delusions. I had no way of knowing whether it was a temporary thing or if I'd lost my daughter for good," his voice went slightly hoarse and he cleared his throat. After a moment he continued, "I'm just glad Elsie knows what's going on with her, because I don't," his tone was resigned.

"Well, I don't completely know what's going on," Elsie commented, walking back into the room followed by AJ. "I understand the symptoms she's getting. But in my experience they aren't supposed to come on this quickly and then instantly leave. My disorder just didn't work that way," the curly haired woman sank down onto the couch next to her husband. Wrath blinked in surprise.

"Your disorder?" he questioned.

"My husband left out the part about my old disorder showing up in physical form and deciding to mess with our daughter," Elsie's tone bordered on bitter, "That's what caused last night,"

"How do we stop Despair from going after her next?" AJ asked, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

"I don't think we can," Elsie replied quietly, expression deeply troubled.

"There has to be something we can do," Envy insisted, slightly exasperated. Elsie frowned, glancing at him.

"You don't get it. I struggled to keep those two under control at the best of times when they were inside of me, and I used medication for that. We don't have that medication in this dimension, and the disorder isn't even inside of her in this case," she explained.

"What about alchemy?" AJ asked. Elsie blinked, glancing at him.

"What about it?" her tone was puzzled.

"Could we use it somehow as a substitute for the medication you used to use?" he clarified. Surprise washed across the dark haired woman's features.

"I…don't know…" she frowned in thought for a moment, "It's a possibility. Bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain… The meds we used were meant to correct that. So if it were possible to somehow use alchemy to alter the balance of chemicals in her brain then…maybe it would work… But alchemy isn't typically used for medical purposes. And playing around with her brain chemistry is dangerous," her tone was wary.

"Well then. It's a good thing her best friend is a talented alchemist specializing in the only known form of medicinal alchemy," AJ pointed out dryly.

"Do you think Adele would be capable of attempting something like that?" Envy asked skeptically.

"I don't know. But she's the only possibility we've got. I suspect she'd have to do some experimenting and studying up on it, but she's got more than enough incentive to figure something out," the brown haired mechanic replied.

"I'll talk to her about it," Elsie said, still clearly deep in thought with the idea.

"I hate to say this, but we've got an even bigger problem than Mina's mental health on our hands," Wrath spoke up, tone resigned. All gazes in the room snapped to him.

"What?" there was an alarmed edge to Envy's voice.

"We're going to be invaded by Aerugo before the end of the year," Wrath dropped the bombshell on them bluntly. Silence reigned in the room. It was a moment before anyone was able to come up with a response. It was such an out of the blue statement that it was almost hard to take seriously. But Wrath wasn't the type to joke around in a situation like this. Envy was the first to find his voice.

"_What?_" he repeated, eyes wide with shock.

"Aren't they our allies?" Elsie's expression mirrored her husband's. AJ remained silent, clearly going over the implications of the statement in his mind.

"That's what they've led us to believe," Wrath replied, "But they suffered heavy losses of life during the long years of war with our country. Those in power haven't released their grudge. The apparent goodwill has all just been a front to allow their economy some recovery time while they conspire with Drachma against us. Their nation was an economic powerhouse to begin with, so they've already recovered from the extended war to a large degree. Better than our country in fact, although that's mainly due to the high cost of maintaining our large military," he explained.

"Conspire with Drachma?" Envy questioned, a frown creasing his brow. Wrath nodded.

"Drachma will tie up our military in the North. The Aerugan forces aren't as strong as our military forces, but that won't matter if our military isn't there to stop them. They'll take South City and the surrounding towns and then move on to East City," the dark haired man replied.

"But that means Resembool is right in their path," Elsie pointed out in alarm.

"So is Dublith if they intend to make a move on Central after they take the South and the East," AJ commented, expression grave.

"How is it that you know all of this and yet our country's leaders are entirely ignorant of it?" Envy demanded.

"Roy had a lingering suspicion about our southern ally, so he sent me privately to infiltrate Aerugo. That's why I disappeared for two years. It was a secret mission which I wasn't at liberty to discuss with you," Wrath replied, "And not all of our leaders are ignorant. There are some who are working on the side of the Aerugans. They're going to assassinate the remaining council members and assume control,"

"When?" AJ demanded.

"Soon. If they plan to invade before the end of the year then that leaves less than four months for them to put their plan into motion. I would be surprised if they didn't attempt the assassination before the end of this month," Wrath replied.

"What do we do?" Elsie asked, appearing slightly distraught by the news.

"I'm working with Mustang to try and salvage the situation if at all possible. But we need to prepare for a worst case scenario," the dark haired man replied gravely.

"We can't just leave Resembool," AJ pointed out skeptically, "If my family suddenly abandoned the automail shop and moved that would raise numerous questions. It has the potential to give away the fact that we know about the invasion. My father might be retired, but he's still a prominent figure. And my mother is just as well known. If they suddenly change locations, people are going to take notice,"

"I know," Wrath replied grimly, "I'm not suggesting that you move immediately, but it's something you need to keep in mind. The only other alternative is we try and come up with a way to defend the town," his tone was slightly skeptical.

"And how are we supposed to accomplish that?" Envy demanded, "The place has no form of defenses and no military protection to speak of. I don't think it's had to fend off an attack for as long as it's been in existence," there was an edge to his voice.

"Therein lies our problem. Mustang is going to quietly inform those in South and East City of the threat. I'm not entirely sure how well the news will be received, but it should at least put them on alert. They might be able to stall the invading force long enough for some military support to arrive from up north, depending on how things go. But if things don't work out…unless we can come up with some sort of suitable defense of Resembool that will last until that northern support arrives, the Elrics may need to prepare to evacuate," Wrath replied. There was a heavy silence around the room. None of them had been expecting to receive such grave news. After a moment AJ cleared his throat. The others glanced at him.

"I have an idea," he told them, a calculating expression on his face.

* * *

Wrath strolled down the street towards an official looking government building. His thoughts swirled with ideas from the conversation he had just had with Envy, Elsie and AJ. The possibilities which the young mechanic had presented them with were encouraging. They offered a much needed flicker of hope. Though at the moment Wrath had other things to worry about. He glanced up at the doors he was nearing. Would he be able to come up with some sort of plan with Roy's other agent? It had been years since he'd laid eyes on Elycia Hughes. He remembered her vaguely as a girl about Elmina's age, with wild ash blonde hair and wide green eyes like Elsie's. Of course, she would have grown up quite a bit by now. She was only about five years younger than his own age of thirty-one. But he was having trouble picturing the energetic girl of his memories as an undercover agent.

He strolled into the lobby of the large building and came to a stop at the receptionist's desk.

"Hello, can I help you?" the lady behind the counter greeted him.

"I'm looking for Roy Mustang," he stated. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I take it you mean Brigadier General Mustang?" her tone was dry, "His office is on the left at the end of the hall," she gestured to one of the halls leading out of the lobby.

"Thank you," Wrath replied, turning and heading down the indicated hall.

The office door was unassuming, with only a small name plate to indicate that it belonged to the Brigadier General. The rank, much like the rank of Furor, had become little more than a title after the cutbacks and restrictions placed on the military by the Council. His knock on the door was met with a call of, "Come in!" from inside.

The room was larger than Mustang's home office. Large windows overlooked a courtyard and the desk sitting in front of them was, not surprisingly, covered in paperwork. Behind it sat Mustang, appearing much more official in his military uniform than he had in his plaid pajamas the night previously. Beside him stood a woman with a clip board in hand. She too was dressed in uniform, although the skirt and crisp white blouse marked her as one of the civilian staff members rather than a trained soldier. Her blonde hair was braided over one shoulder in a practical way. She glanced up at him as he entered, large eyes bright with curiosity.

"Good afternoon," Mustang greeted him, "I hope things are going a little better on your end today,"

"They appear to be so far," Wrath replied, coming to a stop in front of his desk. He glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye, wondering how exactly Mustang planned to handle the situation. It seemed doubtful that he would want to strike up a conversation about invasions and conspiracies while sitting in his office at the military's intelligence headquarters.

"That's good to hear. Thank you for stopping by on such short notice. Here is the letter I need delivered," the Flame Alchemist handed him a blank envelope. Wrath took it, expression skeptical. Apparently he'd been demoted to mailman. Was that really the best cover Mustang could come up with? "I don't believe you've been introduced to my secretary Miss Hughes. She wasn't working for me when you left on your trip. Miss Hughes, this is Mr. Curtis. He's a friend of mine who is being kind enough to run some errands for me while he's in town," Mustang explained. The blonde woman nodded, smiling knowingly.

"Oh I know who Wrath is," she replied cheerfully, "You're Envy's brother aren't you?" she addressed him, setting down the clipboard and stepping around the table extending a hand to shake.

"…Yes," he replied guardedly. She couldn't possibly realize how awkward it was for her, the daughter of the late Maes Hughes, to bring up Envy so casually in conversation. He extended his own hand and it was swiftly caught up in an enthusiastic handshake.

"It's good to see you again! How has Elsie been? I haven't seen her in ages! Then again, with you being away on vacation I suppose you haven't seen her much either. You'll have to say hi to her for me when you see her next; unless I see her before you. Or maybe we could visit her together at some point! That would be fun, don't you think?" She beamed at him.

"Uh…" Wrath retracted his hand from the younger woman's surprisingly firm grip. He was slightly blindsided by the unexpected bubbly chatter. He barely knew the woman. Her forward friendliness was a little awkward.

"Elycia, give the poor man a second to breathe," Mustang ordered, a bemused smile on his face. Elycia rolled her eyes, turning back to her superior.

"You know, _Mustang_," she stressed the name pointedly, "You might be practically my uncle, but shouldn't you address me a little more formally in a working environment?" her sharp tone wasn't meant to be taken seriously if her dancing eyes were any indication. Mustang raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me. It's just with you suddenly jumping to a first name basis with Mr. Curtis I assumed we had moved past formalities," his tone was dry. Elycia's smile grew slightly sheepish and she glanced at Wrath again.

"You'll have to forgive me. I have a tendency of getting carried away," she informed him, sounding more amused than apologetic. He regarded her for a moment, his expression coldly unreadable.

"It's fine," he replied finally, tone stiff. If first impressions were any indication, this woman hadn't grown up in the slightest over the last ten years. If anything she'd just gotten more forward. Working with her was likely going to be a trying experience. The blonde woman bit her lip, clearly attempting to maintain a more serious expression while her eyes laughed at him. Wrath's own eyes narrowed slightly, not appreciating the mirth in her gaze. Most people were put off by his cold demeanor, not amused by it.

"I didn't realize you two were already acquainted. How nice," Mustang commented blandly.

"Yes indeed! I need to take the rest of the day off," Elycia informed her superior abruptly. Mustang raised his eyebrows.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" he inquired.

"I'm going out for coffee with Wrath," She replied, turning and walking to the coat rack in the corner to grab her purse. Wrath stared at her blankly. What had given her that idea?

"Well then. I suppose I can spare you for the day," Mustang leaned back in his chair smirking slightly.

"You know what you need to get done. Don't make me tell Riza you're falling behind in your paperwork again," Elycia leveled a serious look at him. The Flame Alchemist raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, I'll get it done," he assured her.

"Good," She nodded in approval before turning to Wrath, "Ready to go? I know the perfect place," she informed him cheerfully, strolling across the room to him. He opened his mouth to object but was cut off by Mustang.

"She really does know the best coffee shops. It'll be good for the two of you to have some time to catch up," the older man's tone was amiable but his pointed gaze made it clear he was giving an order, not a suggestion. Wrath held back a sigh. Why had he agreed to help this man? Having to spend time alone with his chatty secretary was not an experience he was looking forward to.

"Alright, lets go," he said, tone utterly resigned.

"Have fun," Mustang told him, smirking again. Wrath gave him an unenthused expression. Then his eyes widened in surprise as the blonde abruptly linked arms with him and began pulling him towards the door.

"Come on, daylight is burning!" she told him, tone slightly impatient. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to yank his arm out of her grasp. If he had to work with the woman it would probably be best not to be utterly rude. But did she not understand the concept of keeping a socially polite distance from strangers? He did _not_ appreciate the uncalled for familiarity. He was going to have to have a talk with her about it.

* * *

**-Author's Note- **

***Chuckling into hand* I'm sorry Wrath. But you **_**need**_** an Elycia in your life. You just don't know it yet. **

**Yeah. Elycia's personality was inspired by a suggestion from my best friend, and I am exceptionally grateful for it because it turned her into a character that I adore. x'D As you get to know her more, I suspect you will too. First impressions rarely show all there is to know about a person. **

**Yeah. She takes after her dad. I miss Hughes…**


End file.
